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THE 


TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


SECOND    EDITION, 


NEW    YORK: 

General  Protestant  Hpfscopal  SunUan  <S:!)ooi  Sitifon, 
an)  <?t|)urct)  33oott  .Society, 

762    BKOADWAY. 

1859. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  ol  Congress,  in  the  year  185S, 

Ey  the  General  Protestant  Episcopal  Sunday  School  Union, 
and  Chttech  Book  Society, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


William  Denyse,  Pudnky  A  Kusskll, 

fTKRKOTYPEB   AND   KI.ECTROTYFEB,  PRINTERS 

1 83  William  Street,  N.  7.  79  Joh  „  aree<   'v_  Y. 


Library,  Univ.  of 
North  Clurcima 

PUBLISHED 

%\)t   itiwt   ©ffuings 


THE     SUNDAY     SCHOOL 

OF 

GALENA,    ILLINOIS. 


^anient*. 


PASS 

CHAPTEE  I.— The  First  Day  at  School 7 

"         II.— The  Lost  Gift 20 

"        III.— The  Pink  Eibbon 45 

"        IV.— The  Fair 56 

"         V.— The  Discovery 77 

"        VI.— Nellie  Bkown  goes  to  Chttkch 85 

"      VII.— Jessie's  Visit  to  the  Hut 92 

1* 


THE 

TORTOISE-SHELL  COMB. 

€|a|tir   first, 

THE  FIRST  DAY   AT   SCHOOL. 

~N  a  retired  part  of  Western  New  York, 
not  a  great  many  years  ago,  at  the 
opening  of  a  very  beautiful  wood, 
there  stood  a  common  District  School- 
house.  It  was  a  log  building,  long 
and  narrow,  and  prettily  situated  on  a 
knoll.  This  rural  spot  was  selected  by  the 
farmers  as  being  the  most  central  point,  and 
therefore  the  most  convenient,  and  really  did 
credit  to  their  taste.  The  children  had  trod- 
den a  path  round  one  side  of  the  knoll  to  a 
spring  of  fresh  water,  where  a  barrel  was 


THE    TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


sunk  instead  of  a  pump.  There  .were  other 
springs  in  the  wood,  and*  together  they 
formed  a  gleeful  little  brook,  which  was 
never  dry  the  season  through,  but  twisted 
and  turned  its  pretty  course  over  a  pebbly 
channel,  and  through  the  wood  and  a  mea- 
dow, till  it  was  met  by  a  larger  one,  mur- 
muring and  babbling  to  it.  Here,  like  a 
coy,  modest  little  brook,  as  she  was,  she 
made  a  few  retreats  round  clumps  of  bar- 
berry bushes  and  grassy  hillocks.  Then, 
peering  out  again  like  a  gleam  of  sunshine, 
she  ran  along  a  narrow  strip  of  verdure 
which  grew  narrower  and  narrower,  till 
finally  our  little  wild-wood  brook  was  wooed 
and  wedded  by  the  boisterous  meadow 
stream,  and  together  they  went  prattling 
down  the  course  to  an  old  mill  you  might 
just  see  in  the  distance,  and  where,  in  their 
united  strength,  they  turned  the  wheel  which 
ground  the  corn  and  wheat  for  all  the  farm- 
ers for  miles  around. 


THE   FIRST   DAY   AT    SCHOOL.  9 


Such  strength  is  there  in  union  often 
times!  Alone,  these  streams  could  have 
done  no  more  than  freshen  the  wood,  or  give 
drink  to  a  few  cattle.  Together,  they  turned 
a  mill.  On  the  other  side  of  the  knoll  could 
be  seen,  peering  up  through  the  green  foliage 
of  elms,  oaks,  and  other  beautiful  forest 
trees,  the  spire  of  a  little  country  church, 
and  under  the  shade  of  these  trees  reposed 
the  dead.  To  me  it  is  sweet  to  see  a  church 
thus  gathering  within  its  sacred  inclosure 
both  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  it  is  not  an 
unapt  illustration  of  the  Communion  of  Saints 
— all  one  in  that  blessed  ark  of  safety,  the 
Church — all  one  in  Christ.  A  great  many 
children  attended  this  school  in  the  wood, 
and  among  them  the  two  little  girls  whose 
story  I  am  about  to  tell. 

The  elder  of  the  two  was  Jessie  Carter. 
She  was  an  only  child,  and  a  great  darling 
with  her  parents.  When  she  was  a  very 
little  girl,  her  father  lived  in  the  great  city 


10  THE    TOKTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


of  New  York ;  but  now  they  were  living  on 
a  farm  not  far  from  the  school-house  I  have 
described.  I  should  like  to  tell  my  readers 
a  thousand  pleasant  things  of  Jessie's  farm 
life,  for  she  loved  the  country,  and  thought 
even  the  willow-tree,  which  drooped  its  long 
branches  over  the  trough  where  the  cattle 
drank,  more  beautiful  than  anything  she 
ever  saw  in  the  gay  shop  windows  of  the 
city.  But  I  have  so  many  things  to  tell  of 
her  school  days,  and  of  her  school-mate, 
Nellie  Brown,  that  I  cannot  do  so  now. 

7  It  was  on  the  first  day  of  the  summer  quarter 
Mrs.  Carter  took  Jessie  to  school  for  the  first 
time  in  her  life,  and  though  she  had  passed 
her  tenth  birth-day  she  had  not  been  much 
instructed  in  lessons  at  home.  So  it  is  not 
surprising  that,  as  she  sat  on  the  chair  in 
front  of  her  desk,  listening  to  and  observing 
everything,  at  first  she  felt  embarrassed. 
And  as  class  after  class  took  their  places  on 
a  long  form  in  front  of  Mr.  Cole,  the  teacher, 


THE   FIRST   DAY   AT    SCHOOL.  11 


and  children  younger  and  smaller  than  her- 
self gave  long  answers  to  difficult  questions 
in  history,  geography,  and  grammar,  she 
was  discouraged  and  ashamed  of  her  igno- 
rance. 

"  Oh !"  said  she  to  herself,  "  I'm  nothing 
but  a  dunce,  and  they  will  all  think  me  so, 
too,"  and  she  burst  into  tears.  This  fright- 
ened her  the  more,  and  hiding  her  face  in 
her  hands  she  sobbed  aloud.  Mr.  Cole  was 
a  kind  man,  and  drawing  her  close  to  his 
side,  he  wiped  her  eyes  with  her  handker- 
chief and  asked  her  why  she  felt  so  un- 
happy. 

"  Oh,  sir !"  said  she,  reassured  by  his' gentle 
yoice  and  manner,  "  I  can  never,  never  learn 
lessons  like  these  little  girls.  They  are  too 
hard  for  me." 

"Then  you  will  not  have  to  learn  such, 
my  child,"  answered  the  considerate  teacher. 
"These  little  girls  have  been  a  long  time 
learning  what  you  have  heard  them  recite  so 


12  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


well  this  morning.  I  am  sure  you  will  do 
well ;  so  dry  your  eyes  and  go  to  your  seat 
now." 

Jessie  felt  grateful  for  this  kindness,  and 
had  become  quite  composed,  and  again  in- 
terested in  her  observations,  when  the  school 
was  again  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  a 

woman  leading   a  little   girl  by  the  hand. 



This  woman  was  a  widow  by  the  name  of 

Brown,  who  lived  in  a  hut  in  the  far  end  of 

the  wood.    She  was  a  basket-maker  by  trade, 

and  Jessie  had  often  bought  little  baskets  of 

her  at  the  farm,  but  she  had  never  seen  the 

little  girl  before.     She,  like  Jessie,  was  an 

only  child,  and  though,  owing  to  her  extreme* 

poverty,  she  had  not  been  indulged  as  Jessie 

had  always  been,  she  was  a  great  darling 

with  her  poor  mother. 

Jessie   observed  Nellie  very  closely,  and' 

began   to   feel   very  sorry  for  her,  for  she 

saw  that  she  was  frightened  just  as  she  had 

been,  and  clung  to  her  mother's  skirts ;  and 


THE   FIKST   DAY    AT   SCHOOL.  13 


when  the  master  spoke  to  her  she  hung  her 

head  and  did  not  answer  him.     And  when 

her  mother  left  her,  Jessie  could  see  that  her 

I   young  heart  was  full,  and   that  she   could 

I  scarce  keep  from  crying.     And  she  felt  glad  | 

\  when  Mr.  Cole  led  her  by  the  hand  to  the 

■  desk  next  hers,  and  told  her  it  should  be  her 

seat. 

The    child's    name    was    Nellie  —  Nellie 
Brown.     Jessie  forgot  her  own  troubles,  and 
began  to  think  how  she  could  make  Nellie 
>  feel  more  at  her  ease. 

If  we  earnestly  desire  to  do  good  and 
watch  for  opportunities,  they  will  always 
occur.  So  it  happened  to  Jessie.  In  a  little 
.  while  Nellie's  new  spelling-book  slipped 
from  her  lap  and  fell  upon  the  floor,  and 
Jessie  jumped  from  her  seat  and  picked  it 
up,  and  as  she  handed  it  to  her  she  whis- 
pered :  "  It  will  soon  be  play-time,  Nellie ; 
then  we  will  go  to  the  spring  together  and 
get  a  drink." 

2 


14  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


Nellie  Brown  did  not  answer  Jessie ;  but 
&  smile  passed  over  her  sweet,  pretty  face, 
;and  from  that  moment  Jessie  loved  her. 

In  a  little  while  the  master  rang  a  bell, 
and  then  all  the  children  left  their  seats. 

The  boys  took  their  caps  from  the  pegs 
on  their  side  of  the  school-room,  and  the 
girls  their  bonnets  from  theirs;  for  it  was 
play-time,  and  all  scampered  out,  running 
and  screaming  down  the  hill  to  the 
spring. 

Some  took  the  footpath,  and  others  ran 
straight  down  the  hill,  but  all  made  the 
spring  the  point  of  destination,  where  each 
one  stopped  to  drink  from  a  tin  cup  that  was 
there  for  that  purpose.  Jessie  and  Nellie 
still  feeling  embarrassed  and  strange  among 
so  many  wild,  playful  children,  stood  a  little 
apart  from  them,  and  silently  watched  them 
with  great  interest. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  fun  and  scram- 
bling for  the  cup,  and  some  quarrelling,  for 


THE   FIRST   DAY    AT    SCHOOL.  15 


each  scholar  as  he  drank  threw  the  cup  upon 
the  grass,  and  whoever  first  touched  it  had 
the  next  drink,  and  it  was  not  always  easy 
to  tell  who  did  first  touch  it.  At  this  time 
two  of  the  larger  boys  caught  it  at  the  same 
instant,  one  by  the  handle  and  one  by  the 
side,  and  neither  was  willing  to  give  it  up. 
At  first  they  pulled  playfully  for  it ;  but  soon 
the  angry  blood  mounted  to  their  very 
temples,  and  they  fell  to  kicking  and  swear- 
ing most  dreadfully.  Jessie  shuddered  with 
fear  as  th»  naughty  words  poured  out  of  their 
mouths;  but  Nellie  looked  on  only  with 
curiosity. 

"  Oh,  Nellie,  it  is  dreadful !"  said  Jessie. 

"What    is    dreadful?"   answered    Nellie, 
with  a  puzzled,  inquiring  look. 

""Why,  the  language  of  these  boys — how 
they  swear.!" 

"  I  guess  all  boys  swear,  don't  they  ?"  said 
Nellie. 

"  No !    no !    Nellie,    good    boys    do    not 


16  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


swear;  they  break  God's  commandment 
when  they  do.  Oh,  it  is  awful  to  take  God's 
holy  name  in  vain !  I  cannot  bear  to  hear 
it.    Let  us  go  away." 

And  Jessie  took  Nellie  by  the  hand,  and 
they  wandered  off  a  little  way  into  the  wood, 
and  sat  down  on  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree. 
Jessie  put  her  arm  round  Nellie,  and  there 
they  sat  and  looked  at  the  children  scattered 
in  groups  through  the  wood.  Some  were 
sailing  tiny  boats  down  the  stream,  and 
others,  with  shoes  and  stockings^  off,  and 
holding  their  skirts  clear  of  the  water,  were 
timidly  wading  from  side  to  side,  while  most 
of  the  larger  boys  were  climbing  the  slen- 
der saplings,  and  bending  them  down  for 
swings. 

Jessie  and  Nellie  looked  on  without  once 
moving  from  their  seat,  pleased  and  thought- 
ful, till  the  master,  from  the  open  window, 
rang  the  bell,  when  they  all  scampered  into 
school  again,  merry  and  cheerful,  except  the 


THE   FIKST   DAY   AT    SCHOOL.  17 


two  boys  who  had  quarrelled.  They  still 
looked  flushed  and  discontented. 

When  Jessie  went  to  bed  that  night,  she 
could  not  sleep  for  thinking  over  the  events 
of  this  her  first  day  at  school;  and  oftener 
than  upon  anything  else  did  her  mind  dwell 
upon  the  strange  calmness  of  Nellie  when 
the  boys  were  swearing  so  shockingly.  She 
felt  sorry  Nellie  had  shown  so  much  indiffer- 
ence, and  she  could  not  understand  it.  Jes- 
sie liked  Nellie  very  much,  and  she  fell 
asleep  wondering. 

Jessie  was  too  young  to  make  out  and 
account  for  the  difference  of  feeling  in  her- 
self and  Nellie,  and  perhaps,  dear  reader, 
you  are  too  ;  so  I  will  tell  you.  Jessie  had 
been  religiously  brought  up.  From  her 
earliest  childhood  she  had  been  taught  to 
love  God,  the  Bible,  and  her  Catechism,  and 
to  take  them  as  her  rule  of  action,  while 
Nellie  had  had  no  such  advantages.  Her 
mother,  the  "Widow  Brown,  as  she  was  called, 
2* 


18  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


was  a  hard-working,  sickly  woman,  moral 
and  kind,  but  without  the  love  or  fear  of 
God  in  her  heart.  She  toiled  and  labored 
with  the  sun,  through  all  the  week,  for  the 
bread  that  perisheth,  cheered  by  naught  but 
her  devoted  love  to  her  child;  and  when 
the  Lord's  day  came,  instead  of  devoting  at 
least  a  part  of  it  to  her  child's  instruction, 
or  taking  her  to  worship  God,  and  to  refresh 
her  soul  with  the  precious  manna  of  His 
word,  in  the  little  church  in  the  valley,  she 
hailed  its  dawn  with  only  a  creature  joy 
that  a  day  of  rest  had  come — rest  for  the 
weary  body — and  only  marked  it  by  a  more 
tidy  appearance  than  usual,  and  by  rest  from 
her  labor. 

Thus  Nellie,  a  child  of  peculiar  natural 
sweetness  and  goodness  of  heart,  really  knew 
no  more  of  the  great  God  those  boys  were 
trifling  with,  or  of  her  own  responsibilities 
as  a  child  of  His  mercy,  than  a  heathen 
child.     And  it  is  to  show  the  bearing  of  edu- 


THE  FIRST   DAT  AT   SCHOOL.  19 


cation  upon  the  happiness  of  these  little  im- 
mortals committed  to  our  keeping,  both  in 
this  life  and  that  which  is  to  come,  that  I  am 
writing  this  story;  and  I  pray  God  of  His 
great  goodness  to  bless  it  to  those  who  may 
chance  to  read  it. 


THE   LOST   GIFT. 

ESSIE  and  Nellie  soon  became  accus- 
tomed to  school,  and  learned  to  study 
(^ySK  as  well  as  any  of  the  chidren — at 
f^D  least  Jessie  did.  They  also  became 
great  favorites — Jessie,  because  she 
was  truthful  and  very  playful  and 
ardent ;  and  Nellie,  partly  because  she  was 
affectionate  and  obliging,  but  mostly  because 
Jessie  loved  her  and  was  not  ashamed  of  her, 
though  she  was  the  very  poorest  and  most 
meanly  dressed  child  in  the  school. 

Only  one  thing  disturbed  this  friendship. 
It  was  Nellie's  entire  ignorance  of  everything 
connected  with  religion. 


THE   LOST   GIFT.  21 


Among  so  many  children,  gathered  from 
all  ranks  of  society,  of  course  many  things 
were  seen  and  heard,  as  shocking  to  Jessie's 
pious  mind  as  the  swearing  about  the  cup,  on 
the  first  day  of  the  quarter ;  and  it  still 
grieved  her  to  notice  that  Nellie  never  shrank 
from  these  things — never  seemed  to  know, 
even,  that  they  were  wrong.  And  often,  as 
on  that  first  day  of  her  acquaintance,  she 
would  lie  awake  on  her  pillow,  thinking  of 
these  things,  and  how  she  might  influence 
her  young  companion,  and  teach  her  some- 
thing about  God  and  heaven.  And  often- 
times she  would  pray  for  Nellie. 

By  the  side  of  the  path  which  led  from 
the  school-house  to  the  road>  between  the 
last  two  trees,  the  boys  had  fixed  a  rude  but 
pleasant  seat  to  rest  themselves  upon ;  and 
one  evening,  as  Nellie  and  Jessie,  who  al- 
ways walked  thus  far  on  their  homeward 
course  together,  came  to  th»  seat,  they  sat 
down ;  and  as  they  were  pleasantly  talking 


THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


over  the  affairs  of  trie  day,  as  they  often  did 
at  that  very  spot,  it  came  into  Jessie's  mind 
that  it  would  be  a  good  time  and  place  for 
her  to  begin  to  teach  Nellie.  She  had  often, 
at  night,  made  np  her  mind  to  do  so ;  bnt 
she  was  a  very  delicate  child,  and  when  the 
day  came  she  was  afraid,  and  did  not  know 
how  to  begin.  Perhaps  she  did  not  ask  God 
to  help  her.  This  time,  however,  she  seemed 
to  have  a  strength  not  her  own,  and  she  be- 
gan immediately. 

"  Nellie,"  said  she,  "  how  little  yon  know 
abont  God  and  the  Bible,  and  abont  what  is 
right  and  what  is  wrong.  Do  yon  know  the 
Lord's  Prayer?" 

"No,"  said  Nelly;  "I  wish  I  did.  I 
never  had  any  body  to  teach  me  such 
things." 

"  I  will  teach  yon,  then,  Nellie,"  said  the 
delighted  Jessie.  "I  will  teach  you;  we 
will  sit  on  this  seat — what  a  nice  place  it  is ! 
— every  night  after  school,  long  enough  to 


THE   LOST    GIFT.  23 


say  it  over  once  or  twice,  till  you  know  it. 
I  wish  it  was  in  a  place  where  we  could 
kneel  down ;  but  we  can  clasp  our  hands." 

And,  with  clasped  hands,  Nellie  then,  for 
the  first  time  in  her  life,  repeated  the  Lord's 
Prayer.  And  all  through  the  summer  they 
would  stop  at  the  seat;  and  in  this  way 
Jessie  taught  Nellie  a  great  many  verses 
from  the  Bible,  and  several  beautiful  hymns. 
Nellie  was  very  much  interested,  and  would 
try  to  think  of  all  the  good  things  Jessie  told 
her,  and  was  very  particular  to  say  prayers 
night  and  morning,  till  she  was  troubled 
about  the  tortoise-shell  comb.  That  seemed 
to  break  in  upon  her  new  happiness  and 
knowledge,  as  sin  came  into  Eden,  changing 
everything.  She  did  not  love  to  learn  about 
her  duty  and  her  Saviour  any  more ;  what 
before  was  lovely  and  pleasant  to  her,  now 
became  irksome  and  hateful.  But  I  will  tell 
my  story. 

The  fresh  green  of  summer  had  faded  into 


24  THE    TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


the  gay  tints'  of  autumn,  and  the  leaves  fallen 
in  bright  carpets  over  the  mouldering,  or, 
rather,  sleeping  flowers  of  the  wood,  and 
winter  had  once  or  twice  shaken  his  white 
locks  in  the  school-room  windows,  when,  one 
morning,  Jessie  came  to  school  rather  late. 
She  hung  her  hood  and  cloak  on  her  nail, 
and  walked  to  her  seat  with  a  bold  though 
embarrassed  air ;  indeed,  her  motions  were 
so  quick  and  bustling  that  the  little  girls  all 
looked  up  from  their  lessons  at  her  and 
smiled. 

Jessie  unlocked  her  desk  too,  and  took  out 
her  books  and  threw  them  on  her  desk,  and 
then  sat  down  and  began  to  study,  without 
her  usual  smile  and  recognition  of  Nellie, 
who  still  sat  at  the  desk  next  hers.  Jessie 
did  not  smile,  but  I  am  sure  my  little  readers 
will,  when  I  tell  them  the  reason  of  her  em- 
barrassment. 

It  was  this.  She  had,  the  Saturday  even- 
ing before,  received  a  tortoise-shell  comb,  as 


THE   LOST   GIFT.  25 


a  Christmas  gift  from  a  friend  of  her  mother's 
from  the  city,  and  had  come  to  school  this 
morning  with  her  beautiful  brown  hair,  which 
usually  fell  in  ringlets  over  her  shoulders, 
tucked  up  behind  like  a  grown-up  lady's, 
and  fastened  with  the  new  comb,  and  she 
felt  strangely ',  and  assumed  an  air  of  inde- 
pendence. 

At  play-time  Jessie  had  gotten  over  her 
embarrassment,  and  the  little  girls  all  nocked 
around  her,  anxious  to  see,  and  handle,  and 
hear  about  the  new  comb ;  and  not  one  of 
them  rejoiced  more  sincerely  or  more  heart- 
ily with  her,  upon  her  good  fortune  in  re- 
ceiving so  beautiful  a  gift,  than  did  Nellie 
Brown.  At  that  time  the  temptation  to  pos- 
sess it  had  never  for  a  moment  assailed  her 
heart. 

It  was  Monday  morning.  Jessie  wore  the 
comb,  and  the  last  exercise  for  Monday  after- 
noon in  the  country  school  was  a  spelling 
lesson  with  definitions,  and  every  child  ca- 
3 


THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


pable  of  learning  the  lesson  was  expected  to 
know  it.  Now,  of  all  Jessie's  lessons  she 
loved  this  the  best,  and  she  loved,  too,  to  be 
called,  as  she  really  was,  the  best  speller  in 
the  school;  and  she  always  studied  it  very 
hard.  Nellie,  on  the  contrary,  disliked  it, 
and  could  not  bear  to  study  it ;  and  this  even- 
ing Nellie's  eye  often  wandered  from  her 
book  to  Jessie's  comb,  and  presently  the 
thought  came  into  her  mind:  "How  easily 
I  might  take  that  comb  out  of  Jessie's  head, 
and  she  would  not  know  it,  and  how  it  would 
tease  her !  she  is  always  teasing  somebody, 
I  wonder  how  she  would  like  it  herself?" 

Jessie  was  so  engaged  she  did  not  notice 
Nellie's  idleness  at  all,  or  the  way  she  looked 
at  her  comb  ;  indeed,  she  did  not  notice  any- 
thing but  her  lesson.  She  would  study  five 
or  six  words  over  and  over  a  great  many 
times  in  a  loud  whisper,  rocking  herself  back- 
wards and  forwards  in  her  chair ;  then  she 
would  cover  her  eyes  with  both  her  hands, 


THE   LOST   GIFT.  27 


and  recite  them  to  herself.  This  is  the  way 
Jessie  always  learned  this  lesson. 

As  soon  as  Nellie  thought  abont  taking  the 
comb,  she  determined  to  do  it,  bnt  only  to 
tease  Jessie ;  she  meant  to  give  it  back  di- 
rectly. Looking  at  the  comb  once  more, 
Nellie  said  to  herself,  "Next  time  Jessie 
covers  her  eyes  with  her  hands  I'll  try."  In 
a  little  while  Jessie's  hands  were  over  her 
eyes  again.  ^ 

"  Now  is  my  time,"  said  Nellie ;  and  she 
raised  her  little  hand,  and  so  gently  took  the 
comb  out  that  Jessie  did  not  see  or  feel  the 
movement  at  all.  Nellie  quickly  raised  the 
lid  of  her  desk  and  dropped  the  comb  in,  and 
covered  it  with  some  papers  ;  then  locking 
the  desk,  she,  too,  began  to  study  with  a  zeal 
quite  equal  to  Jessie's.  Jessie's  hair  gradu- 
ally untwisted  itself,  and  fell  in  its  own  ac- 
customed ringlets  over  her  shoulders,  making 
her  feel  the  more  at  ease,  and  she  studied  on, 
all  unconscious  of  her  loss. 


28  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


After  the  lesson  was  recited,  Nellie  watched 
Jessie  very  closely.  "  Now,"  thought  she, 
"  she  will  miss  it,  and  I  shall  have  my  fun." 
But  Jessie,  who  had  got  through  her  lesson 
without  missing,  was  still  too  much  excited 
to  think  of  anything  else.  And  as  she  gath- 
ered up  her  books  and  put  them  in  her  desk 
for  the  night  and  locked  it,  and  then  took  her 
hood  from  its  nail  and  tied  it  under  her  chin, 
she  talked  so  incessantly  about  the  lesson  that 
she  did  not  notice  the  anxious  sparkle  of  Nel- 
lie's eye,  who  every  moment  expected  and 
hoped  she  would  put  her  hand  to  her  head, 
and  then  turn  round  in  a  storm  of  passion 
and  say,  "  Who  has  got  my  comb  ?"  for  Nel- 
lie knew  Jessie  was  a  passionate  child. 

But  Jessie  still  talked  of  the  lesson.  "  Oh," 
said  she,  "  it  was  a  really  tough  lesson ;  and 
I  liked  to  have  missed  the  word  'principal? 
for  as  I  was  spelling  it  I  meant  to  give  the 
definition  of  the  word  ' principle ,'  so  I  just 
escaped.     But  come  along,  Nellie,  we  won't 


THE    LOST   GIFT.  29 

stop  at  the  scat  to-night ;  mamma  always 
likes  me  to  hurry  home  on  Mondays  to  tell 
whether  I  have  missed." 

Nellie  was  very  much  disappointed,  but 
consoled  herself  thinking  Jessie  would  cer- 
tainly miss  it  by  morning,  and  that  she  could 
then  have  her  fun  in  teasing  her. 

The  next  morning,  as  Nellie  came  bound- 
ing into  the  wood,  she  saw  a  group  of  girls 
gathered  around  Jessie.  "  There  !"  said  Nel- 
lie, "  she  has  missed  the  comb  ;  and  I'll  war- 
rant they  are  forming  some  plan  for  looking 
for  it  through  the  wood,  and  I'll  let  them 
look  ever  so  long."  Nellie  was  almost  out 
of  breath  when  she  reached  the  girls. 

"  Oh,  Nellie,  Nellie  !"  said  Jessie,  bursting 
out  from  the  excited  circle.  "  "What  do  you 
think  ?  some  one  has  stolen  my  comb — my 
beautiful  Christmas  gift;  isn't  it  too  bad? 
Would  you  believe  any  one  could  be  so  bad, 
so  mean?  Why,  I'd  rather  be  dead  than 
steal !" 

3* 


30  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


"  I  don't  believe  any  one  has  stolen  your 
comb,"  said  Nellie,  and  a  feeling  of  honest 
indignation  took  the  place  of  the  expression 
of  pleased  mischief  which  a  moment  before 
had  lurked  in  her  usually  placid  face.  "  I 
do  not  believe  any  one  has  stolen  your  comb 
— you  must  have  lost  it." 

Nellie  said  "  You  must  have  lost  it"  with- 
out knowing  why  she  said  it.  She  was  fright- 
ened, and  Satan  put  it  into  her  unguarded 
heart  to  say  so. 

"  Indeed,"  answered  Jessie,  "  I  never  lost 
it.  I  could  not  have  lost  it,  for  I  remember 
perfectly,  after  we  came  in  from  play,  that  I 
had  my  comb  in  my  hair ;  and  as  I  took  my 
spelling-book  out  of  my  desk  to  study,  my 
head  felt  so  uncomfortably,  because  my  hair 
was  twisted  so  tightly,  I  took  my  comb  out 
and  fixed  my  hair  over ;  and  just  as  I  was 
putting  the  comb  in  again,  I  .caught  Mr. 
Cole's  eye,  and  he  smiled,  and  I  felt  so 
ashamed  I  thought  I  would  never  come  to 


THE   LOST   GIFT.  31 


school  again  with  my  hair  done  up  like  a 
grown-up  lady's.  And  I  could  not,"  con- 
tinued she,  "  have  lost  it  going  home,  my 
hood  fits  so  tightly,  and  my  hair  was  in  my 
neck  ;  it  must  have  been  so  before  I  put  my 
hood  on,  for  the  moment  I  entered  the  parlor 
at  home,  before  I  had  taken  off  my  things, 
mamma  noticed  it,  and  said,  '  I  am  glad, 
Jessie,  you  have  come  home  a  little  girl 
again  ;  I  could  not  bear  to  send  such  a  little 
old  woman  to  school  this  morning.'  Then  I 
missed  my  comb  for  the  first  time,  but  I  did 
not  lose  it ;  no,"  said  she,  growing  more  and 
more  angry,  "  no,  no  one  need  tell  me  I  lost 
it.    I  did  not  lose  it ;  some  one  has  stolen  it." 

Just  then  the  bell  rang,  and  with  flushed, 
excited  faces  the  little  girls  went  into  school. 

Poor  Nellie !  she  did  not  know  what  to  do, 
and  grew  more  and  more  agitated  every  mo- 
ment. "What,  what  shall  I  do?"  she  was 
all  the  time  saying  to  herself.  "  What  shall 
I  do  ?    I  did  not  steal  the  comb  ;  I  am  not  a 


32  THE    TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


thief.  I  did  not  want  the  comb  ;  I  do  not 
want  it  now.  Oh !  why  did  I  say,  '  You 
must  have  lost  it  V  but  for  that  I  might  have 
given  the  hateful  thing  right  back  ;  but  now 
if  I  do,  Jessie  will  certainly  think  I  stole  it ; 
if  it  was  anybody  but  Jessie — I  can't  let  Jes- 
sie think  me  a  thief.     I'm  not  a  thief." 

Nellie  would  have  cried,  only  she  knew  if 
she  did  it  would  betray  her  secret.  She  suf- 
fered from  these  anxious  thoughts  all  day; 
and  when  at  evening  they  rested  upon  the 
seat  between  the  trees,  and  Jessie,  calmed 
and  gentle  now,  so  sweetly  heard  her  say  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  she  thought  she  would  tell 
her  all ;  and  perhaps  she  would  have  done 
so,  but  as  soon  as  Jessie  said  "  Amen"  to  the 
prayer,  she  turned  to  Nellie,  and  said,  "  Nel- 
lie, all  this  afternoon  I  have  been  trying  to 
feel  forgiveness  in  my  heart  towards  the  thief 
who  stole  my  comb ;  but  I  could  not,  it  seemed 
to  me  so  wicked  and  so  mean  ;  but  while  we 
were  saying  the  prayer,  I  felt  as  if  I  could 


THE   LOST    GIFT.  33 


forgive  anybody  anything — it  is  so  sweet  to 
think  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  will  forgive  me, 
and  make  me  His  child  forever  and  forever. 
And  I  do  think  I  have  forgiven  her  from  my 
heart,  and  I  shall  pray  for  her  every  night 
that  He  will  give  her  His  grace,  that  she 
may  confess  to  me  that  she  has  taken  it,  and 
truly  repent  of  it,  so  that  God  will  forgive 
her  too." 

Jessie's  speaking  in  this  way,  as  if  there 
was  no  doubt  at  all  that  the  person  who  had 
the  comb  was  a  thief,  decided  the  struggle  in 
Nellie's  mind.  "  Oh,"  thought  she,  "  Jessie 
will  never  believe  me  if  I  tell  her ;  she  will 
not  believe  that  I  did  not  mean  to  say,  '  You 
must  have  lost  it' — she  will  only  think  me  a 
thief.  Oh !  I  am  not  a  thief!  I  did  not  steal 
it."  And  Nellie  made  up  her  mind  not  to 
tell  her  then,  at  all  events.  But  she  thought 
she  would  ask  God  to  forgive  her,  and  then 
she  would  be  happy  again ;  and  turning  to 
Jessie,  she  said  to  her,  "  Jessie,  why  do  you 


34  THE   TOKTOISE-SHELL    COMB- 


say  God  will  not  forgive  the  girl  unless  she 
confesses  to  you  ?  I  should  think  it  were  a 
great  deal  better  to  have  God's  forgiveness 
than  yours,  He  is  so  great ;  and  you  say  He 
will  punish  us  if  we  do  n  >t  get  His  forgive- 
ness before  we  die." 

"  Oh,  yes,  Nellie,  she  must  confess  to  God. 
I  meant  so,  of  course ;  but  she  must  confess 
to  me  first,  and  give  me  hack  my  comb,  be- 
cause it  is  mine,  and  that  is  the  way  the 
Bible  teaches  us  to  do.  Don't  you  remem- 
ber that  beautiful  Bible  verse  in  the  Prayei 
Book?" 

"  Why,  Jessie,  you  know  I  never  even  saw 
a  Prayer  Book.  You  are  always  forgetting 
that." 

"  Oh,  yes,  Nellie ;  I  will  teach  it  to  you 
now.  If  we  confess  our  sins,  God  is  faith- 
ful and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to 
cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness.  That 
means  that  if  we  are  truly  penitent,  God  will 
forgive   us   our  sins   for  Christ's   sake,  and 


THE   EOST    GIFf.  35 


make  our  hearts  just  as  pure  as  if  we  had 
not  sinned.  But,  Nellie,  it  is  very  late ;  we 
must  go  home  now.  But  oughtn't  we  to  be 
very  thankful  for  such  a  Bible  verse  as  that  ? 
Only  think,  if  the  person  who  has  my  comb 
repents/  and  gives  it  back  to  me,  and  seeks 
God's  forgiveness,  she  can  be  just  as  happy, 
or  rimost  as  happy,  as  if  she  had  never 
taken  it." 

And  the  little  girls  kissed  each  other,  and 
then  parted,  each  for  her  home,  but  with 
what  different  thoughts  and  feelings !  All 
the  way,  and,  indeed,  almost  all  the  night  and 
the  next  day,  Nellie  could  think  of  nothing 
but  how  she  might  dispose  of  the  comb  in  such 
a  way  as  not  to  be  discovered.  Poor  ignorant 
child  !  she  never  once  thought  to  kneel  down 
and  ask  God  to  guide  her  by  His  Spirit ;  on 
the  contrary,  she  trusted  so  entirely  to  her 
own  strength,  that  she  forgot  to  say  her  ordi- 
nary prayer  that  night ;  and  as  she  lay  upon 
her  troubled  pillow,  Satan  entered  into  her 


36  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


empty  heart,  and  filled  it  with  his  wily  sug- 
gestions. 

"  Nellie,"  whispered  he,  "  I'll  help  you 
out  of  your  troubles.  You  did  not  steal  the 
comb — you  never  once  thought  of  doing  such 
a  thing;  so  don't  be  fool  enough  to  make 
Jessie  think  you  did,  when  you  know  you 
didn't.  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do.  Get  up 
early  to-morrow  morning,  and  go  to  school 
before  even  the  master  is  there.  Take  the 
key  from  under  the  door-step,  where  he  al- 
ways hangs  it ;  open  the  door ;  get  the  comb 
from  your  desk,  and  hasten  down  to  the 
spring  with  it.  There  the  ground  is  always 
wet  and  soft;  force  the  comb  between  the 
sods  and  the  barrel,  letting  the  teeth  show 
just  a  little  bit.  Some  one  will  be  sure  to 
see  it,  and  take  it  out  and  give  it  back  to 
Jessie,  and  there  will  be  an  end  of  the 
trouble." 

Nellie  listened  to  this  bad  advice,  and  de- 
termined to   follow  it  out.     She   knew  she 


THE   LOST    GIFT.  37 


must  do  it  the  next  morning,  if  at  all ;  for  on 
Saturday  one  half  hour  was  regularly  de- 
voted to  cleansing  and  arranging  the  desks, 
when  everything  was  taken  out  and  dusted, 
and  then  put  neatly  back ;  and  Nellie  knew 
she  could  not  possibly  hide  it  from  Jessie. 

In  the  morning,  Nellie's  mind  was  so  occu- 
pied with  her  plan,  she  did  not  notice  that, 
during  the  night,  the  weather  had  suddenly 
changed,  and  she  ran  to  school,  entirely 
regardless  of  the  exceeding  beauty  which 
everywhere  surrounded  her.  Every  little 
twig  and  blade  of  grass  was  bending  beneath 
its  burden  of  light,  feathery  snow,  all  glisten- 
ing now  in  the  beams  of  the  morning  sun. 
Neither  did  she  feel  the  cold,  which  was  fast 
becoming  extreme. 

On  she  tripped,  not  happy  exactly,  but  reso- 
lute, and  she  had  no  thought  of  anything  but 
her  plan,  till  arrived  at  the  very  school-room 
door.  There  she  halted  one  moment  in  sur- 
prise to  find  it  already  open.  She  entered, 
4 


38  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


however ;  and  as  she  saw  the  master  was  too 
much  engaged  arranging  the  lessons  for  the 
day  to  notice  her,  she  passed  on  to  her  desk, 
and,  unlocking  it,  she  dropped  the  comb  into 
her  dinner-basket,  which  was  hanging  on 
her  arm,  and  went  out  again. 

With  a  quickened  step  she  started  for  the 
spring.  At  the  top.  of  the  hill  she  stood  still, 
again  foiled  and  surprised.  The  spring, 
which  usually  moistened  and  made  green  the 
grass  for  several  feet  around,  was  now  encir- 
cled with  a  wreath  of  beautiful  frozen  foam ; 
several  boys,  too,  were  on  the  ground,  strap- 
ping their  skates.  Then,  for  the  first  time, 
she  thought  of  the  change  in  the  weather, 
and  her  eye  for  a  moment  rested  upon,  and 
delighted  in,  the  beauty  of  the  wood,  all 
clothed  in  white,  so  pure  and  sparkliug,  and 
the  frozen  brook,  like  a  silver  thread,  wind- 
ing through. 

Eut  JSTellie  Brown  had  no  time  to  lose,  and 
she  turned  from   this  beautiful  scene,  and 


THE   LOST    GIFT.  39 


thoughtfully  and  slowly,  and  without  any 
fixed  purpose  in  her  mind,  she  went  behind 
the  school-house.  There  was  nothing  there 
to  help  her,  and  she  went  on  to  the  other 
side.  Under  the  spout,  at  the .  end  of  the 
house,  was  a  large  cask  for  the  purpose  of 
catching  rain-water.  The  cask  did  not  stand 
flat  on  the  ground,  owing  to  the  unevenness 
of  it,  but  one  side  was  raised  a  little  way  by 
a  pile  of  bricks.  Near,  this  cask  was  a  flat 
stone,  where  the  children,  in  the  fall,  had 
cracked  butternuts,  and  by  the  flat  stone  was 
the  round  one  they  cracked  them  with. 

Nellie  saw  the  cask  and  the  stones,  and  in- 
stantly resolved  to  make  use  of  them.  And 
stooping  down,  with  her  mitten  she  brushed 
the  light  snow  from  the  stones,  and,  opening 
the  basket,  she  took  out  the  comb.  For  one 
moment  she  looked  at  it.  "  Oh,  how  beauti- 
ful it  is !"  said  she ;  "  and  how  I  wish  Jessie 
had  it !  Dear,  dear  Jessie !  I  love  her  better 
than  anybody  in  the  world ;  but  she  would 


40  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


not  love  me  if  I  were  to  tell  her — she  would 
only  think  me  a  thief;  and  she  said  she 
would  rather  be  dead  than  steal — and  I  did 
not  steal  it — I  did  not  steal  it." 

Nellie's  tears  fell  fast  upon  the  comb,  and 
as  she  said  "  I  did  not  steal  it,"  she  laid  it  on 
the  flat  stone,  and  with  the  round  one  she 
pounded  it  into  a  thousand  pieces ;  then, 
gathering  them  quickly  up,  every  little  bit, 
she  threw  them  away  under  the  cask. 

Poor,  poor  Nellie !  The  deed  was  done. 
She  did  not  stop  to  give  it  a  thought  or  a> 
look,  but  retraced  her  steps  round  the  school- 
house,  and,  as  she  turned  the  corner  on  the 
other  side,  the  first  eye  she  met  was  Jessie's. 

"  Why,  Nellie,"  said  Jessie,  coming  to  meet 
her,  "  are  you  here  ?    Where  have  you  been  V' 

"  Round  here,"  said  Nellie,  and  she  turned 
deadly  pale. 

"  Looking  at  the  graves  ?"  continued  Jessie. 

"  Yes." 

"  Does  your  father  lie  there,  Nellie  ?" 


THE   LOST    GIFT.  41 


"Yes." 

"  Oh,  does  he  ?"  said  Jessie ;  and  she  threw 
her  arms  round  Nellie's  neck  and  kissed  her. 
"Nellie,"  said  she,  "mamma  says  it  isn't 
well  for  people  to  think  too  much  of  the 
graves  of  their  friends.  She  says  they  had 
better  think  of  their  happy  souls  in  paradise. 
Did  your  father  die  happy,  Nellie  ?" 

"Yes." 

"  Oh,  then,  dear,  dear  Nellie,  don't  cry  so. 
There  is  a  morning  coming — I  don't  know 
when,  but  it  is  coming — when  Jesus  Christ 
will  come  again  into  the  world.  He  will 
come  in  the  clouds  with  the  angels,  and  He 
will  bring  all  the  happy  souls  with  Him,  and 
give  each  soul  back  to  its  own  body.  If  you 
die  happy,  Nellie,  you  and  your  father  will 
see  each  other  then,  and  we  all  shall  see  and 
know  the  Saviour.  But,  Nellie  clear,  do  try 
and  stop  crying,  and  come  with  us  to  slide. 
There  are  ten  minutes  yet  before  school. 

Presently  Nellie  might  have  been  seen. 
4* 


42  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


with  the  other  little  girls,  gliding  up  and 
down  the  polished  stream  as  rapidly  as  any 
of  them,  and  apparently  she  was  as  merry 
and  playful  as  any  one  of  them.  But  Nellie 
Brown  was  not  what  she  seemed;  she  was 
not  happy.  There  was  a  weight  upon  her 
young  heart  she  had  never  known  before  ;  it 
was  heavier  than  in  her  first  struggles  about 
the  comb,  and  she  felt  that  if  she  could  but 
recover  it,  she  would  give  it  right  back  to 
Jessie.  All  day  long  she  tugged  and  pulled 
at  this  weight,  and  sang  to  it  the  old  song — 
"  I  did  not  steal  it."  But  it  would  not  go 
away,  it  would  not  be  soothed. 

She  did  not  know  that  the  Lord  is  a  very 
present  help  in  trouble,  so  she  did  not  seek 
Him.  She  did  not  pray.  For  days  and 
nights  together  she  strove  thus  with  her  con- 
science, till  Time  only — that  old  hewer  who 
can  chip  off  and  smooth  the  rough  edges  of 
even  sorrow  itself — gradually  lulled  her  with 
the  conviction  that  she  had  not  stolen  the 


THE   LOST    GIFT.  43 


comb ;  and  with  this  conviction  came  a 
temporary  relief  and  return  of  her  cheerful 
feelings  ;  but  her  poor  little  heart  was  hard- 
ened in  the  process. 

She  came  at  last  to  feel  that,  as  she  had 
not  stolen  the  comb,  she  could  not,  after  all, 
have  done  anything  so  very,  very  bad ;  and 
she  daily  became  less  prayerful ;  less  and 
less  conscientious  ;  less  and  less  thoughtful 
of  her  sin.  Before  I  go  on  to  show  my 
young  readers  how  this  paved  the  way  for 
another  sin  in  Nellie,  and  a  worse  one,  I  will 
beg  them  to  pause  and  think  what  a  sad,  sad 
thing  it  is  for  a  child  to  yield  to  the  first 
great  temptation  which  assails  him.  And  if 
he  has  yielded,  how  much  better — no  matter 
how  severe  the  struggle  may  be  (and  we 
never  can  turn  from  the  evil  way  and  do 
that  which  is  right  without  a  struggle) — how 
much  better  to  confess  his  fault  immediately 
and  seek  forgiveness  from  the  injured  person 
and  from  God. 


44  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


Nellie  Brown  did  not  steal  the  comb.  She 
did  no  wrong  even  in  taking  it  in  the  playful 
way  in  which  she  did  it ;  but  in  keeping  it, 
and  then  destroying  it,  she  was  guilty  of  a 


sin  almost  as  great. 


Cfajiu    fftirfc. 

THE   PINK   RIBBON. 

HAYE  said  that  Nellie  Brown  prayed 
less,  and  became  less  thoughtful,  and 
less  conscientious,  after  her  great 
p  fault.  We  will  see  in  this  chapter  if 
she  became  any  better  or  any  happier 
for  it. 

It  was  nearly  two  months  after  the  affair 
of  the  tortoise-shell  comb,  when  one  morning 
Jessie  stopped  studying  rather  suddenly,  and 
nudging  Nellie,  attracted  her  attention  to  a 
little  parcel  she  took  out  of  her  pocket. 
Untying  the  string  of  this  little  parcel  she 
displayed  a  great  variety  of  pretty  silks,  and 
bits  of  morocco  and  sewing  silks.      "How 


46  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


pretty  they  are  !"  whispered  Nellie.    "  What 
are  yon  going  to  do  with  them  ?" 

"Make  needle-books  and  pin-cushions  for' 
the  fair,"  answered  Jessie. 

"When  will  it  be?" 

"Next  week,  Thursday.  Are  you  going, 
Nellie  ?" 

"  Oh,  I  do  not  know.  If  my  mother  will 
let  me,  I  shall.  It's  a  long  way  to  the  Court 
House,  you  know.  Oh,  what  a  beautiful 
piece  of  pink  ribbon  that  is  !  What  are  you 
going  to  make  of  it  ?" 

"  This  plaid,  do  you  mean  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  I  think  I  shall  ravel  out  the  ends  for  a 
doll's  scarf.  There  is  to  be  a  table  at  the 
fair  devoted  to  dolls." 

"  Nellie  and  Jessie  whispering  !"  exclaimed 
the  master,  just  at  that  moment,  with  a  loud 
voice,  and  giving  a  terrific  rap  with  his  ruler 
upon  the  table  at  his  side.  The  startled 
Jessie   quickly  gathered  up   her  silks  and 


THE   PINK   RIBBON.  47 


thrust  them  loosely  into  her  pocket,  and  did 
not  perceive  that  the  choice  pink  ribbon  was 
hanging  nearly  half  out.  For  sojne  reason 
or  other  at  the  playtime  on  that  day,  Nellie 
did  not  get  out  with  the  other  girls,  and  she 
felt  irritated  in  consequence,  and  walked 
down  the  hill  rather  sulkil  instead  of  run- 
ning as  she  usually  did.  v.rken  about  half 
way  down  what  did  she  p<  twisted  round  a 
twig  of  a  bush  but  Jessie--  pink  plaid  ribbon. 
The  wind  had  blown  it  from  her  pocket,  and 
it  had  caught  in  this  way  on  the  bush.  The 
bush  was  a  little  out  of  the  path,  and  Nellie 
went  to  it  and  untwisted  the  ribbon. 

"I  am  so  glad  I  found  this  ribbon!  I 
have  a  right  to  keep  what  I  find,"  said  she  ; 
and  looking  all  round  her  to  see  that  no  one 
observed  her,  she  put  it  in  her  bosom. 

After  many  and  very  painful  struggles, 
Nellie  Brown  had  once  before  yielded  to 
Patau  when  tempted  to  do  a  great  wrong. 
Now  she  became  an  easier  prey  to  his  tempt- 


48  THE    TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


ations.  As  soon  as  Nellie  put  the  ribbon  in 
her  bosom,  she  hastened  down  the  hill  to 
slide  on  the  brook  with  Jessie,  and  seemed 
gayer  and  more  playful  than  usual. 

Since  the   weather  had  become   so  very 
cold,  Jessie   and  Nellie  had  omitted  their 
prayer  and  talk  at  the  seat  between  the  trees. 
But  this  evening,  as  they  came  to  it,  Jessie 
proposed  they  should  brush  off  the  snow  and 
sit  down   for  a  few  minutes.     "  For,"  said 
she,  "  I  did  not  half  show  you  my  silks  this  . 
morning,  and  I  entirely  forgot  them  at  play-  j 
time  and  at  noon."     The  truth  is,  Nellie  had  ! 
managed  so  to  entertain  her  that  she  had 
quite  forgotten  them  until  now. 

They  sat  down  on  the  seat,  and  Jessie  soon 
emptied  her  pockets  again  of  her  gay  trea-  i 
sures,  and  Nellie  admired  them  very  much,  j 
and  made  Jessie  tell  her  what  she  was  going 
to  do  with  each  particular  piece. 

"  But  the  plaid  ribbon — the  pink  plaid  for 
the  scarf — what  has  become  of  that  ?     I  cer-  j 


THE   PINK   RIBBON.  49 


tainly  put  it  in  my  pocket  with  the  rest,"  said 
Jessie  ;  and  she  turned  her  pocket  inside  out, 
and  getting  up  from  her  seat  she  looked  all 
around  her  for  it.  "  I  must  have  dropped  it 
somewhere.  How  unfortunate  I  am  lately  ! 
Let  us  go  back  a  little  way,  Nellie,  and  look 
for  it." 

And  they  did  so.  They  looked  through 
the  path,  and  on  each  side  of  it.  Nellie  con- 
tinued to  look  even  after  Jessie  had  given  it 
up. 

"Perhaps  you  put  it  in  your  bosom, 
Jessie,"  said  Nellie,  who  seemed  determined 
to  find  it. 

"  Put  it  in  my  bosom  !"  exclaimed  Jessie. 
"  Oh,  no,  I  did  not ;  I  never  put  things  in 
my  bosom.  Mamma  don't  like  me  to.  She 
says  it  spoils  my  dresses ;  and  see,  Nellie,  I 
could  not  possibly  have  done  so,  my  dress  is 
so  very  high  in  the  neck  !" 

"  You  may  have  done  so  this  time  though, 
Jessie ;  at  all  events  let's  look.  Such  a 
5 


50  THE   TOETOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


beautiful  ribbon  as  that  is  worth  taking  some   j 
pains  for  ;"  and  guilty  Nellie  helped  to  take 
off  Jessie's  cloak,  and'  unbuttoned  her  dress 
behind,  and  examined  her  very  closely  ;  but    j 
the  pink  plaid  ribbon  was  not  there.     It  was   1 
evidently  lost. 

"  I  knew  I  had  not  put  it  in  my  bosom," 
said  Jessie,  almost  crying  and  shivering  with 
the  cold.  "  But  do,  Nellie,  make  haste  and 
button  my  frock.  I  shall  catch  my  death, 
and  mamma  will  reprove  me  for  this  as  it  is." 

"  Oh,  don't  tell  your  mamma,  Jessie  ;  then 
she  will  not  scold  you." 

"Not  tell  mamma!  "Why,  I  could  not 
sleep  if  I  should  not.  I  tell  mamma  every- 
thing." 

It  is  not  sin  that  makes  people  bright,  and 
cheerful,  and  happy ;  and  as  Nellie,  after 
she  had  parted  from  Jessie,  walked  home 
alone,  she  began  to  feel  very  much  ashamed 
of  herself,  and  sorry  for  what  she  had  done. 
She   did  not    feel    sorry   because    she  had 


THE   PINK   RIBBON.  51 


broken  God's  commandment;  but  she  felt 
sorry  that  she  had  treated  Jessie  so  badly, 
and  ashamed  that  she  had  done  something 
so  very  like  stealing. 

"I  don't  see,"  said  she  to  herself,  as  she 
walked  along,  "  I  don't  see  what  I  kept  the 
ribbon  for.  I  don't  know  what  to  do  with  it 
now  I  have  it.  I  have  not  got  a  doll.  I 
never  had  one  in  my  life,  nor  ever  shall  have. 
My  mother  don't  get  things  for  me  as  Jessie's 
does  for  her." 

Thus  Nellie  talked  to  herself,  and  by  the 
time  she  reached  the  hut  she  was  in  a  very 
ill  humor  and  very  unhappy.  Her  poor 
mother,  who  had  been  all  day  long  at  her 
work,  and  was  tired,  put  it  away  when  the 
time  drew  near*  for  Nellie  to  come  home, 
and  stirred  up  the  fire,  and  placed  her  own 
rocking-chair  in  the  warmest  corner  for  her, 
and  looked  cheerful,  and  met  her  with  a 
pleasant  smile  when  she  came  in. 

But  Nellie,  guilty  Nellie,  now  she  was, 


52  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


was  cross,  and  would  not  cheer  or  talk  with 
her  mother  at  all,  and  soon  after  they  had 
made  their  frugal  supper  of  bread  and  milk 
she  began  to  yawn,  and  said,  "  Come,  moth- 
er, let  us  go  to  bed  now  ;  I  am  tired." 

The  hut  was  very  small,  so  the  one  room 
served  for  parlor,  kitchen,  and  bedroom,  and 
by  the  light  of  the  fire  and  one  tallow  candle 
they  proceeded  to  undress  themselves.  As 
Nellie  took  off  her  frock,  her  mother  saw  the 
ribbon  all  crumpled  up. 

<•  What  is  that  ?"  said  she  to  Nellie. 

"  Oh,  it  is  just  a  bit  of  ribbon  I  found  on 
the  hillside  twisted  round  a  twig." 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  ribbon,"  said  Mrs. 
Brown,  as  she  smoothed  it  over  her  knee. 
"  Did  you  try  to  find  out  whose  it  is,  Nellie  ?" 

"  No,  mother ;  I  thought  as  I  found  it  I 
had  a  right  to  keep  it." 

"  Nellie,"  said  Mrs.  Brown,  "  you  have  no 
right  to  keep  it  at  all,  and  you  must  take  it  to 
school  with  you  to-morrow,  and  show  it  to 


THE   PINK   RIBBON.  53 


the  master,  and  let  him  show  it  to  the  school ; 
then,  if  no  one  claims  it,  you  may  keep  it — ■ 
not  without." 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  want  the  ribbon,"  said 
Nellie  \  "  I  haven't  got  anything  to  do  with 
it.     I  never  do  have  anything." 

Mrs.  Brown  felt  very  much  hurt  by  what 
Nellie  had  said,  and  by  her  manner,  and  she 
sat  still  a  few  moments  looking  sadly  into  the 
fire. 

"Nellie,"  said  she  at  last,  "you  have 
everything  these  poor  hands  can  get  for  you. 
For  you  I  work  day  after  day  at  those  rough 
barks  and  willows,  and  often  when  I  can 
scarcely  hold  up  my  head  or  endure  the  sore- 
ness of  my  fingers.  And  are  ingratitude  and 
cruel  reproaches  to  be  my  reward  at  last  ?" 

"  "Well,  I  do  suppose  you  do  all  you  can, 
and  I  am  sorry  I  spoke  so,  mother.  But  all 
the  girls  at  school  look  nicer  than  I  do,  and 
have  nice  things  sometimes,  while  I  never 
do,  and  it  seems  to  me  it  isn't  fair  so  many 
5* 


54:  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


should  have  more  than  they  need,  and  others 
almost  starve  and  freeze.  But,  mother,  do 
come  to  bed,  won't  you  ?" 

In  the  morning  they  were  always  very 
busy  at  the  hut  for  a  little  while.  Mrs. 
Brown  prepared  the  breakfast,  after  which 
she  milked  her  cow ;  and  while  she  was 
milking  and  straining  the  milk,  and  putting 
it  away,  ISTellie,  though  a  very  little  girl  for 
her  age,  would  make  the  bed,  clear  off  the 
breakfast-table,  and  put  the  room  in  order. 
And  in  the  bustle  and  hurry  this  morning 
Mrs.  Brown  forgot  about  the  ribbon,  and 
Nellie  managed  to  hide  it  away  in  a  book  in 
the  closet.  At  school  she  got  along  as  usual, 
for  Jessie  did  not  suspect  that  any  one  had 
taken  the  ribbon,  and  in  a  few  days  forgot 
all  about  it. 

And  Nellie,  too,  tried  to  forget  it,  for  the 
remembrance  of  it  made  her  unhappy.  So 
when  she  did  think  of  it,  she  would  immedi- 
ately drive  it  from  her  mind  by  play  or 


THE   PINK   RIBBON.  55 


study,  or  talking  with  Jessie  about  the  Fair. 
The  Spirit  of  God,  we  are  told  in  his  precious 
book,  the  Bible,  will  not  always  strive  with 
us,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say,  in  a  very  few  days 
He  seemed  to  go  away  from  our  poor  little 
Nellie,  for  she  ceased  to  feel  so  very  badly 
about  the  pink  ribbon,  and  when  the  day  for 
the  Fair  arrived  she  was  in  her  usual  spirits. 


THE  FAIB. 

HE  Fair  was  gotten  up  by  the  re- 
ligious people  of  all   names  in  the 

village  of ,  in  aid  of  a  foreign 

mission,  which  had  been  reported 
by  a  returned  missionary  as  being 
in  great  need.  The  interest  in  this 
good  cause  was  so  general  as  to  reach  even 
to  the  children,  and  Mr.  Cole,  not  will- 
ing to  deprive  them  of  the  opportunity  to 
contribute  their  mite,  consented  to  dismiss 
his  school  for  that  afternoon. 

Mrs.  Brown  endeavored  to  dissuade  Nellie 
from  going,  for  the  day,  though  clear  and 
fine,  was  intensely  cold,  and  Nellie,  of  late, 


THE   FAIR.  57 


she  thought,  had  not  been  well.  There 
seemed  too  much  excitement  in  her  system. 
She  did  not  rest  as  usual  in  her  sleep,  but 
would  oftentimes  start  suddenly  as  if  fright- 
ened, and  was  at  times  feverish.  But  Nellie's 
heart  was  bent  upon  going,  and  Mrs.  Brown, 
not  willing  so  much  to  disappoint  her,  set 
about  getting  her  ready  with  all  a  mother's 
interest. 

It  is  no  wonder  Nellie  Brown  sometimes 
felt  discontented  and  unhappy.  They  were 
so  poor,  so  very  poor.  Her  clothes  were 
faded  and  old-fashioned.  Her  bonnet — a 
summer  straw,  trimmed  with  a  faded  pink 
ribbon — was  full  a  finger  larger  every  way 
than  was  then  the  fashion  of  children's  bon- 
nets. Her  cloak,  too,  was  patched  and  ill- 
shapen,  and  to  make  her  look  a  little  smarter, 
Mrs.  Brown  pinned  her  own  best  collar 
round  her  neck,  which  only  added  to  the 
oddity  of  her  appearance.  However,  she 
looked  proudly  on  her,  and  giving  her  a  shil- 


58  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


ling  she  could  ill  spare  from  her  meager 
purse,  which  she  told  her  to  put  in  her  mit- 
ten, and  be  very  careful  not  to  lose,  she 
kissed  her  and  opened  the  door  for  her,  and 
Nellie  started  out  for  the  Fair. 

The  day,  I  have  said,  was  very  cold,  and 
fortunately  for  Nellie  she  had  not  gone  far 
ther  than  the  little  church  when,  on  looking 
back,  she  saw  an  empty  wood-sleigh  in  the 
road.  She  fell  back  and  waited  by  the  side 
of  the  fence  till  it  came  along,  when  she 
dropped  a  curtsey,  and  asked  the  man  so 
prettily  if  she  might  ride,  that  he,  quite 
pleased  with  her  gentle  manner,  willingly 
stopped  his  horses,  and  taking  her  in  very 
kindly  set  her  on  the  board  by  his  side,  and 
drove  her  to  the  very  gate  of  the  Court 
House.  Nellie  thanked  him  for  his  kindness, 
and  opening  the  gate  she  entered  the  long, 
wide  walk  which  led  to  the  Court  House 
door. 

The  village  was  all  astir,  and  people  were 


THE   FAIR.  59 


flocking  to  the  Fair  from  every  direction. 
Nellie  walked  slowly  up  the  path,  for  though 
it  was  thronged  with  gaily-dressed  little 
girls  and  merry  boys  dashing  on  to  the  Fair, 
she  felt  lonely  and  strange.  A  little  before 
her  in  the  path  was  an  old  lady  who  walked 
slowly  too,  as  if  she  were  feeble.  She  was 
dressed  in  a  black  satin  cloak  and  velvet 
bonnet,  and  a  fur  tippet,  and  walked  with  a 
gold-headed  cane. 

Somehow,  Nellie  felt  as  if  this  old  lady 
was  something  of  a  protection  to  her,  and 
she  determined  to  walk  by  her  side.  Pres- 
ently the  old  lady,  who  was  a  good  deal 
bent,  looked  sideways  at  her  and  smiled. 
Nellie  was  delighted,  and  thought  her  the 
most  beautiful  lady  she  had  ever  seen. 

At  the  door  the  old  lady  took  a  pocket- 
book  out  of  her  bag,  which  Nellie  noticed 
was  made  of  black  beads  and  was  very 
pretty,  and  fumbled  about  a  good  while  for  a 
sixpence,  which  was  the  admittance  fee  ;  but 


60  THE   TORTOISE-SHKLL   COMB. 

she  could  not  find  it.  "  I'll  trust  you,  ma'am," 
said  the  door-keeper  to  her,  as  he  despaired 
of  her  finding  it. 

''No!  no!  it  is  here  somewhere,  and  "I 
must  have  it."  And  she  took  several  bills 
out  of  the  pocket-book,  and  held  them  in  her 
hand  while  she  searched  the  corners  for  the 
sixpence.  "  Oh,  here  it  is  at  last !"  said  she, 
when  she  had  found  it.  "I  knew  I  had  it !" 
And  as  she  handed  the  man  the  sixpence 
she  dropped  the  bills,  and  one  of  them  fell  at 
Nellie's  feet. 

The  door-keeper  instantly  stooped  to  gather 
up  the  bills,  and  Nellie,  who  was  perfectly 
screened  from  observation  by  the  old  lady's 
cloak,  picked  up  the  one  at  her  feet,  and  in- 
voluntarily pushed  it  into  her  mitten — not 
the  one  in  which  was  the  shilling,  however. 
The  old  lady  went  into  the  Fair,  and  Nellie, 
as  soon  as  she  had  paid  her  admittance,  fol- 
lowed after  her.  They  entered  a  hall  and 
went  up  a  flight  of  stairs,  and  through  an- 


THE   FAIK.  61 


other  short  passage-way  into  an  open  door, 
where  the  bewildered  little  Nellie  found  her- 
self in  the  midst  of  a  scene  more  gay  and 
beautiful  than  she  had  ever  before  seen,  or 
even  imagined. 

It  was  a  very  long  room,  beautifully  hung 
with  wreaths  of  the  ground  pine,  cedar,  and 
hemlock.  There  were  long  rows  of  tables, 
covered  with  bright,  beautiful  things,  and 
gay  young  girls  attending  them.  For  a  while 
Nellie  wandered  about,  gazing  and  staring 
at  everything,  entirely  forgetful  of  the  six- 
pence she  had  to  spend,  and  of  the  ill-gotten 
bill  in  her  mitten.  Presently,  however,  she 
thought  of  both,  and  stood  still  for  a  moment, 
trying  to  think  what  she  had  better  buy  with 
them ;  and  while  she  was  thinking,  she  saw 
Jessie  at  the  other  end  of  the  room.  Their 
eyes  met,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  her  life, 
Nellie  Brown  felt  sorry  to  see  Jessie.  Jessie 
soon  made  her  way  to  Nellie. 

"  Oh,  Nellie,  you  little  rogue !  I  am  so 
6 


THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


glad  to  see  you ;  I  am  so  glad  you've  come. 
How  much  money  have  yon  got?  I  have 
spent  three  shillings,  and  see,  I  have  two 
left,  which  I  am  going  to  spend  for  you ;  so 
come  along — don't  mind  the  people — brush, 
and  crowd  right  by  them.  Do  you  like 
oysters  ?" 

And  without  waiting  for  Nellie  to  answer 
her,  Jessie  took  her  by  the  hand  and  dragged 
her  to  an  oyster  table. 

"  Say,"  continued  Jessie,  as  they  stopped 
at  the  table,  "  say,  Nellie,  do  you  like 
oysters  ?" 

"  I  don't  know,  Jessie,"  answered  Nellie, 
now  for  the  first  time  finding  her  voice.  "  I 
never  tasted  them." 

"  Never  tasted  oysters  !  —  that's  funny. 
Well,  you'll  like  them,  I  know.  They  cost 
more  than  anything  else  in  the  room,  and 
you  ought  to."  And,  going  close  up  to  the 
table,  Jessie  bought  a  large  saucer  of  oysters 
and  handed  them  to  Nellie.     Nellie  did  not 


THE    FAIR.  63 


like  the  looks  of  this,  to  her,  perfectly  new 
dainty  ;  but  to  show  Jessie  she  was  grateful, 
she  took  the  fork  in  her  hand  and  tried  to 
eat  them. 

"Aren't  they  good?"  said  Jessie,  who  real- 
ly enjoyed  the  thought  that,  for  once,  Nellie 
had  something  good.  "Aren't  they  fine, 
Nellie  ?"  continued  Jessie. 

"Yes." 

"Why  don't  you  eat  them,  then?"  said 
she,  beginning  to  suspect  the  truth.  "  If  you 
like  them,  why  don't  you  eat  them  ?" 

"  Oh,  I  can't,"  said  Nellie,  now  thoroughly 
disgusted,  and  obliged  to  own  the  truth. 

"  Why  didn't  you  say  you  didn't  like  them, 
Nellie  ?  I  can  eat  them  myself,  and  spend 
the  other  shilling  for  you."  And,  with  a 
right  hearty  relish,  Jessie  soon  despatched 
the  oysters.  She  was  hardly  through  eating 
them,  when  a  party  of  little  girls  came  after 
her  and  made  her  go  with  them  into  another 
room,  where  there  was  a  post-office. 


64:  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


Nellie  no  sooner  found  herself  alone  again 
than  her  thoughts  returned  to  the  bill  and 
the  best  way  of  disposing  of  it.     She  took  it 
out  of  her  mitten  and  looked  at  it.     It  was  a 
two-dollar  bill,  and  seemed  nothing  short  of 
a  fortune  to  Nellie,  and  she  felt  herself  sur- 
rounded by  all  that  could  possibly  be  desired 
in  this  world ;  yet  she  could  not  think  of  a 
single   thing  to  buy.      After    looking    and 
thinking   a  great  while,   the   only   definite 
thing  that  came  into  her  mind  was  a  glass  of 
lemonade.     She  scarcely  knew  what  lemon- 
ade was ;  but  she  had  heard  so  many  persons 
ask  for  it,  that  it  seemed  quite  familiar  to 
her,  and  she  determined  to  buy  a  glass.    She 
was  a  little  creature,  and  without  much  diffi- 
culty  soon    pushed   her   way  through    the 
crowd  to  the  lemonade  table.     It  happened 
that   just    then    there   were   no  persons   at 
that  table,  and  Nellie  very  modestly  went 
up  and  asked  the  young  lady  in  attendance 
for   a   glass    of  lemonade ;    and   when   she 


THE   FAIK.  65 


had  drunk  it,  she  handed  her  the  two-dollar 
bill. 

The  young  lady  took  the  bill,  and  looking 
first  at  it,  and  then  inquiringly  at  Nellie,  she 
asked  if  she  had  not  a  sixpence,  as  that  was 
the  price  of  the  glass. 

"  Yes,"  said  Nellie,  "  I  ha've  a  sixpence ;" 
and  taking  her  sixpence  out  of  her  mitten,  she 
handed  it  to  her,  saying,  "  If  you  please,  miss, 
I  should  like  you  to  change  the  bill  for  me." 

"  "What  is  your  name,  little  girl  ?"  the 
young  lady  asked,  as  she  proceeded  to  count 
out  the  money. 

"  Nellie  Brown,  miss." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  remember ;  you  live  in  the 
country,  in  the  wood,  don't  you?  and  your 
mother  makes  baskets  V 

"Yes,"  said  Nellie. 

"I  think,"  continued  the  young  lady, 
I  your  mother  must  feel  very  much  for  the 
poor  missionaries,  to  give  them  two  dollars ; 
it  is  a  great  deal." 


THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


"She  does,  miss,"  said  Nellie,  a  little 
frightened ;  u  but  mother  made  all  Mr.  Car- 
ter's corn-baskets  for  him,  last  summer,  and 
he  said  it  was  an  ugly  job,  and  sent  her  this 
two  dollars  for  me  to  spend  at  the  Fair." 

"Ah!  that's  it,  is  it?"  said  the  young 
lady,  and  Nelly  was  glad  enough  to  turn  off 
with  her  change. 

The  young  lady  had  given  her  two  half- 
dollar  pieces  and  four  two-shilling  pieces. 
No  one  seemed  to  think  Nellie  Brown  of 
enough  consequence  to  make  room  for  her ; 
so  she  had  very  little  chance  of  seeing  the 
things  on  the  tables.  Between  every  two 
tables,  however,  were  evergreen  trees  hung 
with  caps,  bags,  and  other  pretty  things. 
These  Nellie  could  see  very  well.  On  one 
was  a  brown  linen  apron,  trimmed  with  green 
worsted  braid.  Such  aprons  were  then  very 
much  worn  by  little  girls,  and  Nellie  would 
willingly  have  given  all  her  money  for  this 
one.     She  asked  the  price  of  it,  as  soon  as 


THE   FAIR.  67 


she  could  make  herself  heard ;  it  was,  to  her 
great  surprise,  but  five  shillings,  and  she 
took  it. 

"Is  there  anything  else  you  would  like 
from  my  tree?"  inquired  the  young  sales- 
woman of  Nellie,  seeing  she  had  more  money. 

"I  don't  know,  miss,"  answered  Nellie. 
"  I  should  like  something  for  my  mother." 

"  Does  she  wear  caps  ?" 

"  Yes,  and  I  should  like  a  cap,  if  I  have 
money  enough." 

"  Here  is  a  very  pretty  one  for  four  shil- 
lings— have  you  that  much  ?" 

"  Yes,  miss,"  said  Nellie ;  and  she  bought 
the  cap.  What  next  to  get  she  could  not 
tell,  and  she  began  to  feel  a  little  uneasy  at 
the  thought  of  encountering  Jessie  with  her 
extravagant  treasures.  Just  then,  too,  a  man 
entered  the  room  and  began  to  light  the 
candles,  and  lamps,  and  tapers  on  the  trees. 
Nellie  had  promised  her  mother  not  to  stay 
late ;    and  though  she  thought   everything 


68  THE   TORTOISE- SHELL    COMB. 


looked  a  great  deal  more  beautiful  for  trie 
light,  she  determined  to  buy  one  more  thing 
and  be  off.  She  was  standing  opposite  a 
tree  hung  with  bags,  purses,  and  fancy  bas- 
kets of  almost  every  imaginable  description. 

"  If  I  could  only  get  one  of  those  bags !" 
thought  she,  and  she  passed  over  to  the  tree. 
To  her  surprise,  the  bag  was  but  a  half- 
dollar,  and  she  had  still  three  shillings  left ; 
and  she  would  have  bought  some  other  fool- 
ish thing,  but  just  then  she  saw  Jessie,  away 
off  in  another  part  of  the  room,  looking  all 
over,  apparently,  for  somebody.  Nellie's 
heart  told  her  it  was  for  her.  Guilt  always 
makes  us  mean  and  cowardly;  and,  rather 
than  see  Jessie,  her  kind,  loving  friend,  Nel- 
lie made  for  the  door,  with  the  three  shillings 
unspent. 

It  seemed  to  this  excited  child  that  she 
had  been  a  very  little  while  at  the  Fair ;  and 
she  was  almost  frightened,  on  coming  into 
the  air,  to  find  how  late  it  was.     The  last 


THE   FAIR.  69 


tints  of  the  setting  sun  were  almost  faded 
ifrom  the  sky,  and  the  crescent  moon,  with 
her  attendant  star,  was  far  up,  casting  her 
beautiful  light  on  everything.  But  it  was 
cold,  very  cold;  and,  as  Nellie  hurried  on, 
she  would  every  now  and  then  feel  a  chill, 
which  seemed  to  creep  to  her  very  heart, 
and  often — oh,  how  often ! — she  would  look 
behind  her,  in  hopes  of  again  seeing  the  kind 
woodman  who  had  given  her  a  lift  in  the 
afternoon ;  but  he  did  not  come,  and  on  she 
trudged.  One  by  one  the  stars  came  out, 
till  the  whole  heaven  was  crowded  with 
them,  and  the  crisp,  cold  snow  twinkled  and 
sparkled  in  their  pale  light.  Still  on  she 
went. 

When  she  got  to  the  little  church  she  felt 
almost  discouraged,  and  thought  for  a  mo- 
ment to  rest  herself  in  the  porch ;  but  she 
was  a  superstitious  child,  and  the  very 
thought  seemed  to  lend  her  new  strength, 
and  with  a  quickened  step  she  struggled  up 


70  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


the  hill.  On  reaching  the  top  she  was 
startled  to  see  a  figure  very  distinctly  in  the 
moonbeams,  crouching  along  by  the  side  of 
the  wood.  Her  first  impulse  was  to  run 
back  again  down  the  hill ;  but,  on  looking  a 
second  time  at  the  figure,  she  recognized  her 
mother. 

"  My  poor,  poor  child !"  cried  Mrs.  Brown, 
on  coming  up  to  her,  "are  you  almost 
frozen  ?"  And  taking  Nellie  under  her  own 
cloak,  and  putting  one  arm  around  her,  she 
almost  carried  her  to  the  hut.  There  was  a 
good  fire  on  the  hearth,  and  as  soon  as  Nel- 
lie got  warm  her  mother  began  to  notice  her 
things,  and  to  question  her  about  them. 

"Who  gave  you  these  things,  Nellie?" 
said  she. 

Nellie  had  anticipated  all  this,  and,  on  her 
way  home,  had  made  up  her  mind  to  tell  her 
mother  that  Mr.  Carter  had  sent  her  two 
dollars  by  Jessie,  to  spend  for  the  mission- 
aries, but  that  she  thought  she  had  better 


THE   FAIR.  71 

bring  a  part  of  the  money  home  for  her ;  and 
then  Nellie  gave  her  the  three  shillings. 
Mrs.  Brown  was  perfectly  satisfied  with  Nel- 
lie's story. 

"  How  good  those  Carters  are  to  you, 
Nellie!"  said  she;  "and  I  hope  you  will 
always  deserve  their  kindness." 

"I  hope  so,  mother,"  said  this  naughty 
little  girl,  who  was  fast  becoming  a  great 
sinner.  "But,  mother,  won't  you  come  to 
bed  now  ?  I'm  so  tired.'^J; 

Mrs.  Brown  put  the  things  nicely  away  in 
the  little  closet,  and  then  they  went  to  bed, 
where  we  will  leave  them  for  awhile,  and 
return  to  the  Fair. 


After  the  Fair  was  over,  and  the  people 
had  all  gone  to  their  homes,  the  doors  were 
locked,  and  those  ladies  who  had  sold  at  the 
tables  were  left  alone  with  a  gentleman  who 
had  been  chosen  by  them  to  preside  upon 
the  occasion,  to  count  over  the  proceeds  of 


72  THE    TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


the  sale.  The  gentleman  sat  at  a  round 
table,  with  a  pencil  and  paper  before  him, 
and  each  lady,  in  turn,  brought  the  money 
she  had  taken  at  her  table,  and  with  his 
assistance  counted  it,  and  he  marked  the  sum 
down  on  his  paper.  ISTow  Miss  Porter,  the 
young  lady  who  sold  the  lemonade,  was 
rather  ambitious  to  have  taken  the  most 
money,  and  as  she  presented  her  immense 
bowl  of  sixpences,  with  the  two-dollar  bill 
exposed  to  full  view  on  top',  a  general  smile 
was  excited. 

"  "Who  on  earth,"  exclaimed  one,  "  bought 
two  dollars7  worth  of  lemonade?  It  is  the 
most  curious  investment  of  the  evening,  I'm 
sure." 

"  I  do  not  wonder  you  ask,"  said  Miss 
Porter.  "No  one,  however,  bought  two 
dollars'  worth  of  lemonade ;  I  changed  the 
bill  for  little  Nellie  Brown ;  she  said  Mr. 
Carter  gave  her  the  money  to  spend  for  the 


THE   FAIR.  73 


"Very  likely,"  answered  another  young 
girl.  "You  know  the  children  say  Jessie 
has  taken  such  a  fancy  to  that  child ;  and  I 
do  not  wonder,  for  notwithstanding  her  fan- 
I  tastic  dress,  she  is  lovely  looking ;  and  do 
you  mind  how  prettily  she  speaks  ?  She 
must  have  caught  her  manner  from  Jessie." 

"  Oh,  no,  indeed,"  said  Miss  Porter ;  "  it  is 
natural  to  the  child ;  she  speaks  and  looks 
precisely  like  her  mother,  the  basket  woman. 
I  have  often  talked  with  her  in  the  street." 

"  But  why  do  you  look  so  seriously  about 
it,  Miss  Eagle?"  inquired  the  gentleman, 
addressing  a  young  lady  across  the  table 
immediately  opposite  him.  "I  am  sure 
there  is  nothing  so  very  incredible  in  the 
story.  Mr.  Carter  is  a  generous  man,  and 
passionately  fond  of  his  little  daughter." 

"  Oh !  I  don't  know  that  I  ought  to  speak 
such  a  suspicion,"  said  Miss  Eagle,  looking 
quite  troubled ;  "  but  I  can't  help  thinking  it 
strange" — 

7 


74  THE   TOETOISE- SHELL   COMB. 


"I  thought  so,  too,"  interrupted  Miss 
Porter ;  "  but  there  is  something  so  touching 
and  refined  in  the  little  beggar,  I  was  really 
afraid  to  question  her.  Perhaps  I  ought  to 
have  done  so,  though." 

"No,"  said  Miss  Eagle,  "I  should  not 
have  done  so  any  more  than  you,  but  for 
this  circumstance  I  was  going  to  tell  you.  It 
is  very  strange  my  Aunt  Whimple  should 
have  lost  at  the  Fair  the  very  sum  this  poor 
child  has  spent." 

"  Let  us  hear  all  about  it,"  said  the  gentle- 
man, now  thoroughly  interested.  "  I  confess 
the  matter  begins  to  look  a  little  dark." 

"  My  Aunt  Whimple,  you  all  know,  is  not 
rich  now;  but  she  has  a  truly  missionary 
spirit,  and  she  has  denied  herself  really 
necessary  comforts  that  she  might  spend  ten 
dollars  at  this  Fair  ;  and  on  coming  into  the 
Fair  she  sat  down  by  my  table,  and  counted 
over  her  money,  saying  she  had  dropped  it 
at  the  door,  and  was   afraid  she  had  lost 


THE   FAIR.  75 


some;  and  sure  enough  she  had  lost  two 
dollars.  I  asked  her  if  it  was  in  change,  and 
she  said  no — it  was  a  two-dollar  bill  she  had 
lost.  Now,  I  do  not  accuse  Nellie  Brown  of 
having  found  and  kept  it ;  but  it  is  strange 
the  child  should  have  had  just  that  sum." 

"There  is  but  one  thing  for  us  to  do, 
young  ladies,  that  I  can  see.  It  is  clear  the 
child  must  have  found  Miss  Whimple's 
money ;  but  to  prove  it,  Miss  Porter  must  go 
to  Mr.  Carter  with  Nellie's  story,  and  if  it 
turns  out  that  Nellie  has  done  wrong,  must 
go  to  Nellie's  mother,  accuse  her  of  it,  and 
get  back  the  things."    * 

"I  cannot,  indeed;  I  cannot  do  it,"  said 
Miss  Porter. 

"  Pray,  why  not,  miss  ?  You  need  not  feel 
so  very  delicate.  People  who  can  steal  can 
generally  bear  to  be  found  out." 

"  But  perhaps  the  poor  little  thing  did  not 
know  it  was  stealing.  She  does  not  look  in 
the  least  like  a  thief." 


76  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


"  Now  that's  all  very  fine  sentiment,  Miss 
Porter ;  but  I  must  say  it  is  nonsense — just 
as  if  there  is  any  one  in  this  gospel-hearing, 
praying  community  who  does  not  know  that 
keeping  another  person's  money  is  stealing." 

I  will  not  prolong  this  conversation,  which 
was  carried  on  with  some  spirit.  Enough  to 
say,  the  gentleman  at  last  convinced  Miss 
Porter  that  it  was  her  duty  to  go,  telling  her 
she  might  get  Parson  Phelps,  the  minister  of 
the  country  church,  to  go  with  her,  as  the 
Browns  belonged  to  his  parish. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Miss  Porter,  "  if  I  must, 
I  must ;  but  I  cannot  possibly  go  till  Saturday, 
and  then  I  will  not  without  the  parson.  I 
mean  I  cannot  go  to  Mrs.  Brown's  before 
Saturday.  I  will  drive  over  to  Mr.  Carter's 
to-morrow  evening — though  it  seems  very 
unnecessary,  it  is  so  evident  that  Nellie 
found  Miss  Whimple's  money." 


THE   DISCOVERY. 

OMING  into  the  chill  air  so  sud- 
denly from  the  heated  room  of  the 
Fair  gave  Nellie  a  cold,  and  all 
night  she  was  restless;  but  in  the 
morning  she  was  so  much  better  her 
mother  let  her  go  to  school,  though 
rather  unwillingly.  She  met  her  playmates 
as  usual,  and  though  the  Fair  was  much 
talked  about,  she  did  not  show  the  least  con- 
sciousness of  her  guilt. 

On  Saturday  morning  the  little  girls  were 

all  assembled,  as  they   often  were,  at  the 

brow  of  the  hill,  planning  a  slide  after  some 

new  fashion,  when  Jessie,  rather  hurriedly,. 

7* 


78  THE   TOKTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


came  into  their  midst,  and  asked  where 
Nellie  was. 

"  She  has  not  come  yet,"  was  the  answer 
of  the  little  girls.  "  Is  there  anything  the 
matter,  Jessie  ?" 

"  No,"  said  Jessie,  "  only  I  want  Nellie ;" 
and  without  another  word  she  walked  out  of 
the  wood.  She  walked  till  she  saw  Nellie 
coming  along  the  edge  of  the  wood,  in  her 
little  patched  cloak  and  her  dinner  basket  on 
her  arm.  As  soon  as  Jessie  saw  Nellie  she  ran 
to  meet  her,  and  Nellie  ran  to  meet  Jessie. 

"  Oh,  Nellie,  Nellie !  yon  stole"— 

"Stole  what?"  said  Nellie. 

"  Miss  "Whimple's  two  dollars,"  said  Jessie, 
clasping  her  hands  in  agony.  "  Oh,  Nellie  ! 
how  could  you  ?" 

"I  did  not  steal  it — I  found  it." 

"But  you  knew  it  was  hers.  The  door- 
keeper says  you  must  have  known  it.  Nellie, 
Nellie,  how  I  have  loved  you !  and  mamma 
says  I  must  not  have  you  for  my  friend  any 


THE  DISCOVERY.  79 


school. 

Nellie,  pale  as  marble,  and  as  cold,  stood 
for  some  time  looking  at  Jessie  as  she  ran 
away  from  her.  Then  she,  too,  turned  and 
went  back  to  the  hut. 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Brown,  as  Nellie  came 
into  the  hut,  "  what  has  brought  you  back  ? 
Are  you  sick  ?" 

"Yes,  mother,  my  head  feels  badly,  and 
I  do  not  want  to  go  to  school." 

"  You  need  not  go,  then,  Nellie.  I  thought 
you  were  not  well  this  morning." 

Nellie  took  off  her  things  and  sat  down  by 
the  little  front  window.  She  was  very  sad 
and  troubled  ;  but  her  mother  did  not  notice 
it.  She  was  sitting  by  the  fire  trying  to 
make  a  much  finer  kind  of  basket  than  she 
had  ever  before  made  of  split  straw,  and  she 
was  so  used  to  being  alone  with  her  work 
that  she  quite  forgot  that  Nellie  was  in  the 
room  at  all. 


80  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


Nellie  sat  thus  by  the  window  a  long 
while.  Presently  she  heard  sleigh-bells,  and 
then  she  saw  a  fine  sleigh,  with  a  gentleman 
and  lady  in  it,  and  in  another  moment  they 
had  stopped  at  the  gate  of  the  hut.  The 
lady  was  the  same  who  changed  the  bill  for 
Nellie,  and  the  gentleman  was  the  aged 
minister  of  the  country  church.  Well  did 
Nellie  know  who  they  were,  and  why  they 
had  come,  and  without  telling  her  mother  of 
the  arrival  of  the  strangers,  she  went  out  of 
the  hut  at  the  side  door.  She  trembled  like 
a  leaf  when,  standing  outside  the  door,  she 
heard  the  dreaded  rap  and  entrance  of  these 
persons,  and  she  would  have  listened  there, 
only  she  was  afraid  her  mother  would  open 
the  door  and  call  her  in.  So  she  went  and 
stood  behind  the  cow-house,  determined  not 
to  answer  if  she  were  called.  She  trembled 
very  much  and  was  very  cold.  Still,  there 
she  stood  long  after  she  heard  the  sleigh- 
bells,  as  they  moved  off  and  down  the  road. 


THE   DISCOVEKY.  81 

Nellie  was  in  hopes  her  mother  would  call 
her,  but  she  did  not.  So  after  a  long  while 
she  came  from  behind  the  cow-house,  and 
i  timidly  opened  the  door,  as  if  afraid  of  her 
own  mother — as  indeed  she  was. 

Mrs.  Brown  had  left  the  seat  by  the  fire, 
and  was  standing  in  the  center  of  the  room 
a  pitiable  object.  She  was  as  pale  as  pos- 
sible. Her  hands  were  clasped  and  her  lips 
compressed,  while  in  her  very  attitude  as 
well  as  countenance  there  was  an  expression 
of  indescribable  agony— a  mother  weeping 
for  her  child. 

Nellie  was  frightened,  and  thought  per- 
haps her  mother  was  dying.  She  ran  to  her, 
and  clasping  her  knees  and  bursting  into 
tears,  she  exclaimed,  "Mother!  mother! 
don't  look  so,  mother.  I  did  not  know  it 
was  so  wicked;  indeed  I  did  not.  What 
will  they  do  with  me,  mother  ?" 

"My  poor,  poor  child!"  said  Mrs.  Brown, 
raising  Nellie  from  her  feet  and  drawing  her 


82  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


closely  to  her  bosom,  "  God  liave  mercy  on 
us!  I  have  been  hungry  and  cold,  child, 
but  I  never  thought  to  come  to  this.  It  is 
my  fault !  my  fault !  Oh,  yes !  I  have 
toiled  like  a  mother  to  keep  this  poor  little 
body  clothed  and  fed ;  but  I  have  forgotten 
my  old  father's  dying  advice,  always  to  re- 
member God  and  the  Bible.  Yes,  yes! 
child  darling,  'tis  your  own  mother  who  has 
wronged  you." 

I  will  not  dwell  any  longer  on  this  painful 
scene,  but  return  to  the  visit  of  the  minister 
and  the  young  lady.  The  aged  minister  was 
struck  by  Mrs.  Brown's  distress,  with  re- 
morse for  his  many  years  of  neglect  of  this 
needy  portion  of  his  flock,  and  with  great 
earnestness  and  sincerity  he  urged  upon  her 
consideration  the  immediate  necessity  of  a 
change  of  life,  and  he  exacted  from  her  a 
promise  henceforth  regularly  to  attend  public 
worship,  and  to  begin  a  daily  course  of 
prayer  and  reading  of  the  Scriptures. 


THE   DISCOVERY.  83 


Mrs.  Brown,  too,  was  struck  with  remorse, 
for  she  knew  it  was  not  from  ignorance  of 
the  way  of  life  she  had  neglected  her  child, 
but  that  the  cares  of  this  life  had  choked  out 
that  better  care. 

Her  father  had  died  an  old  man  and  a 
Christian  while  she  was  yet  in  the  bloom  of 
jwomanhood,  and  through  a  long  illness  he 
'had  not  ceased  to  instruct  her  in  the  ways  of 
God;  and  he  died  thinking  he  had  planted 
in  her  heart  that  good  seed  which  he  knew 
would  not  fail  to  spring  up  and  bear  fruit  to 
eternal  life. 

But  the  promise  is  to  those  who  bring  up 
their  children  in  the  right  way,  that  they 
will  not  depart  from  it.  He  had  not  led  her 
childhood  through  this  good  and  pleasant 
path — it  had  passed  in  utter  ignorance  of 
God.  He  had  not  walked  in  it  himself  till 
his  sickness,  and  so  when  poverty,  and 
widowhood,  an^d  unremitting  toil  became  her 
portion,  it  is  not,  perhaps,  surprising  that  she 


84  TIIE    TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


forgot  her  duty — forgot  lier  aged .  father — 
forgot  her  God!  And  it  is  not  surprising 
that  thus  neglected,  thus  ignorant,  her  own 
child  should  have  fallen  •  a  victim  to  the  try- 
ing temptations  which  assailed  her. 

Eor  was   it  right  in  those   who   became 
acquainted  with  her  guilt  to  judge  her  as 
harshly   as   they  would   a   child  whose   ad-  j 
vantages  had  been,  greater. 

It  is  education  (in  its  just  seuse)  which 
makes  the  difference  in  children — I  mean  ; 
the  moral  difference — and  the  cultivation  of 
the  heart  which  makes  them  conscientious 
and  enables  them  quickly  to  perceive  the 
shades  of  right  and  wrong.  ISTellie  knew  it  j 
was  wicked  to  steal.  Jessie  would  have 
known  that  keeping  back  the  comb  which 
she  had  not  stolen,  was  in  the  sight  of  God 
stealing,  and  this  knowledge,  in  a  heart  will- 
ing and  desirous  to  please  God,  would  have 
saved  her  from  all  these  sins. 


NELLIE   BROWN   GOES   TO    CHUECH. 

HA  YE  said  that  the  aged  minister 
who  disclosed  poor  Nellie's  fault  to 
Mrs.  Brown,  exacted  from  her  a 
promise  to  reform  her  manner  of 
living,  and  particularly  that  she 
would  go  to  church.  So  on  the 
fourth  Sunday  from  the  events  of  the  last 
chapter,  notwithstanding  Nellie's  painful  re- 
luctance, she  determined  to  go  to  church, 
and  before  they  made  their  frugal  breakfast 
Mrs.  Brown  told  Nellie  to  make  herself  as 
tidy  as  possible,  for  that  she  must  go  with 
her  to  church.  Nellie  saw  that  her  mother 
was  resolute ;  and  while  she  was  preparing 
the  lunch  she  put  on  her  best  frock,  and  the 
8 


THE   TOETOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


little  old  cloak  and  straw  bonnet,  and  they 
went. 

The  service  had  commenced  when  they 
got  there,  and  they  quietly  took  their  seats 
near  the  door,  and  for  some  time  were  not 
observed.  Presently,  however,  after  the 
second  lesson  was  read,  and  the  congrega- 
tion stood  in  singing,  they  were  discovered 
by  the  little  eyes  that  peered  over  the  backs 
of  the  pews  from  every  part  of  the  church. 

Nellie  was  very  much  solemnized  by  com- 
ing into  church,  and  as  she  listened  to  the 
devout  prayer  of  the  minister  she  felt  that 
God's  eye  was  upon  her,  and  this  feeling  en- 
abled her  to  bear  the  gaze  of  the  children  for 
some  time  with  great  humility. 

But  when  the  service  was  over,  and  the 
congregation  began  to  disperse,  she  was 
made  to  feel  the  shame  of  her  situation  to  an 
extent  she  could  not  bear.  The  story  of  her 
sin  had  been  made  so  public  that  not  a  child 
La  the  whole  vicinity  was  ignorant   of  it. 


NELLIE   BROWN    GOES   TO    CHURCH.  87 


Her  mother  noticed  that  Nellie  was  the  ob- 
ject of  universal  attention,  and  taking  her 
by  the  hand  she  walked  through  the  crowded 
porch  with  a  dignity  which  her  superiors 
might  sometimes  be  glad  to  assume. 

Still,  the  unfeeling  gaze  of  curiosity  was 
not  daunted,  and  they  felt  that  every  eye 
was  fixed  upon  them.  And  as  they  passed 
along,  their  ears  caught  the  whisper,  as  it 
seemed  to  fly  from  mouth  to  mouth,  "  That's 
she!"  "That's  she!"  and  rude  boys  would 
peep  under  Nellie's  bonnet  and  say  coarse 
words  to  her.  But  the  most  trying  thing  of 
all  to  Nellie  was  the  fact  that  Jessie,  as  she 
was  stepping  into  her  carriage,  turned  and 
looked  at  her  without  speaking  to  her.  Oh, 
you  happy  children,  who  have  never  known 
disgrace,  you  cannot  know  at  all  what  this 
poor  little  child  suffered  then  !  But  you  can 
thank  God  that  He  has  delivered  you  from 
this  evil,  and  I  hope  you  will. 

Nellie   and    her  mother    hastened    home 


88  THE    TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


without  exchanging  any  words  with  eacli 
other,  but  not  without  intense  feeling.  Mrs. 
Brown  felt  that  her  child's  punishment  was 
greater  than  she  could  bear,  and  her  heart 
became  excited  and  rebellious  towards  those 
who,  professing  a  religion  of  love,  could  so 
cruelly  treat  a  child.  But  towards  Nellie 
she  was  more  than  ever  tender.  "When  they 
got  home  she  made  the  fire  and  prepared 
their  tea,  without  once  calling  on  Nellie  for 
assistance ;  and  when  all  was  done,  she  drew 
the  little  table  up  to  the  fire,  close  by  where 
Nellie  was  sitting. 

Nellie  did  not  want  any  supper,  and  told 
her  mother  so ;  but  Mrs.  Brown  had  made  a 
bit  of  toast  very  nicely  for  her,  and,  handing 
it  to  her  with  a  cup  of  tea,  she  said,  "  Eat  a 
little — do,  Nellie,  for  my  sake." 

Nellie  was  much  touched  by  this  tender- 
ness on  the  part  of  her  mother,  and  for  her 
sake,  as  she  said,  she  tried  to  eat  of  the  toast, 
but  she  could  not ;  and  pushing  the  plate  and 


NELLIE   BROWN    GOES   TO    CHURCH.  89 


cup  both  from  her,  she  turned  her  chair  from 
the  table  towards  the  fire,  and  burst  into 
tears. 

"I  can't  bear  it,  mother!"  said,  she,  "I 
can't  bear  it !  How  they  all  looked  at  me, 
and  pointed  their  fingers  at  me,  and  whis- 
pered about  me !  And  Jessie  ! — Jessie  would 
not  speak  to  me !  I  wish  I  was  dead,  mother 
—I  do !" 

Mrs.  Brown  could  not  say  anything  to 
soothe  Nellie,  she  knew  ;  so  she  very  quietly 
cleared  the  table,  and  then  took  her  pail  and 
went  out  to  milk  her  cow. 

When  Nellie  knew  that  she  was  alone,  she 
kneeled  down  by  the  side  of  the  rocking- 
chair,  and  burying  her  face  in  the  cushion, 
she  repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer,  for  she  felt 
that  she  could  never  be  happy  again  till  her 
sin  was  forgiven  her.  And,  with  her  head 
bowed,  she  said  over  and  over  the  petition, 
"Forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive 
those  that  trespass  against  us."  And  while 
8* 


90  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


Nellie  was  praying,  suddenly,  as  if  whis- 
pered by  the  Spirit  of  God,  those  words 
Jessie  had  tanght  her  came  into  her  mind — 
"If  we  confess  our  sins,  God  is  faithful  and 
just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us 
from  all  unrighteousness" 

"  Oh !"  said  Nellie,  "if  God  will  help  me 
— and  Jessie  says  He  will  always  help  us  if 
we  ask  Him — I  will  confess  to  Jessie  all 
about  the  comb,  and — and  that  ribbon — yesj 
if  God  will  help  me,  I  will." 

Just  then  Mrs.  Brown  came  in  with  the 
milk,  and  when  she  had  taken  care  of  it,  and* 
sat  down  by  the  fire,  close  by  Nellie,  for  the 
evening,  Nellie  told  her  that  she  wanted 
very  much  indeed  to  see  Jessie  Carter. 

"  Not  to-night,  surely,  though  ?"  said  Mrs. 
Brown. 

"Yes,  mother,  to-night,  if  you  will  go  for1 
her." 

Mrs.  Brown  knew  that  it  would  be  useless 
to  go  for  Jessie  that  night,  as  Mr.  Cartel 


NELLIE   BROWX    GOES   TO   CHUKCH.  91 

would  never  let  her  come  to  the  hut  at  so 
late  an  hour,  particularly  now  they  were  dis- 
graced ;  and  though  she  felt  willing  to  do 
anything  in  the  world  for  Nellie,  she  told  her 
she  could  not  go  until  morning. 


Jessie's  visit  to  the  hut. 

N  the  morning  Mrs.  Brown  did  not 
feel  any  more  inclined  to  go  for  Jessie 
than  she  had  done  the  night  before. 
She  was  troubled,  and  wondered  why 
Nellie  so  much  wished  to  see  her. 
And  thinking,  or  rather  hoping,  the 
child  had  forgotten  that  she  had  promised  to 
go,  when  her  morning  duties  were  done,  she 
took  from  its  place  on  the  top  of  the  closet 
her  box  of  split  straws,  and  seating  herself 
in  the  corner,  as  usual,  began  to  work.  But 
Nellie,  in  her  turn,  now  looked  troubled, 
and,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  reminded  her  of 
her  promise.     So  Mrs.  Brown  rather  reluc- 


93 

tantly  left  her  work,  and  putting  on  her  bon- 
net and  cloak,  went  for  Jessie. 

During  her  mother's  absence,  Nellie  Brown 
experienced  a  great  many  different  feelings. 
At  one  moment  she  almost  regretted  having 
sent  for  Jessie  at  all,  and  thought  to  hide 
herself  and  not  see  her,  after  all,  rather  than 
expose  her  sin  any  more  to  her  pure  eyes. 
Then  she  would  remember  the  sweet  feeling 
of  peace — the  first  she  had  known  in  months 
— which  came  into  her  heart  when,  on  bend- 
ed knees,  she  promised  that,  if  God  would 
help  her,  she  would  confess  all  her  sin ;  and, 
falling  again  on  her  knees,  she  prayed  yet 
more  earnestly  than  before  that  she  might 
have  strength  to  keep  her  good  resolution." 

God,  who  is  always  our  best  friend  in 
trouble,  if  we  go  to  Him  in  prayer,  did  not 
fail  Nellie  now,  and  she  rose  from  her  knees 
composed  and  resolute.  And  when  Mrs. 
Brown  returned  with  Jessie,  she  was  far  less 
embarrassed  than  Jessie  was,  and  even  met 


94-  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


her  with  a  smile,  as  if  glad  to  see  her ;  only, 
when  Jessie  offered  to  kiss  her,  she  gently 
pushed  her  from  her,  saying,  "  Not  yet, 
Jessie." 

When  Mrs.  Brown  and  Jessie  had  taken 
off  their  things  and  warmed  themselves,  Nel- 
lie took  Jessie  by  the  hand  and  led  her  to 
that  part  of  the  room  where  the  bed  was. 
Her  mother  was  still  sitting  sadly  by  the  fire 
with  her  back  towards  them;  "For,"  said 
Nellie,  "I  wish  you,  mother,  to  hear  all  I 
have  to  say  to  Jessie,  only  don't  look  at  me." 

"  Jessie,"  said  Nellie,  immediately,  and 
without  any  hesitation  in  her  voice  or  man- 
ner, "  Jessie  do  you  remember  your  tortoise- 
shell  comb  ?" 

"Yes,"  said  Jessie,  starting  and  changing 
color. 

"  "Well,"  continued  Nellie,  "  I  did  not  steal 
that  comb,  but  it  has  brought  me  into  all 
this  trouble — all  this  sin  and  sorrow."  And 
Nellie  told  Jessie  the  story  of  the  comb  from 


95 

the  beginning  to  the  end — how  she  had 
struggled  and  struggled  in  her  own  strength 
to  tell  Jessie  the  truth,  and  to  give  back  the 
comb,  but  could  not,  from  fear  of  becoming 
a  thief  in  her  eyes  and  losing  her  love,  which 
had  been  such  a  comfort  to  her — and  then 
how  she  grew  naughty  all  the  time  after  she 
once  made  up  her  mind  never  to  tell  her  ; 
how  she  disliked  to  think  of  God  and  say  her 
prayers. 

"  Oh,  oh  !"  exclaimed  the  weeping  Jessie, 
"why  didn't  you  tell  me?  I  would  never 
have  thought  you  a  thief!  I  would  have 
forgiven  you,  and  have  taught  you,  as  well 
as  I  could,  your  duty,  and  the  great  sin  of 
doing  such  things.  Poor,  poor  Nellie,  I  am 
so  sorry  for  you  !" 

And  Jessie  tried  to  throw  her  arms  around 
Nellie's  neck  again,  but  Nellie  pushed  her 
from  her  as  before,  saying:  "Not  yet;  oh, 
not  yet !"  and  for  a  moment  she  closed  her 
eyes  and  clasped  her  hands  as  if  in  prayer. 


THE   TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


Then  coming  closer  to  Jessie  again,  she 
put  her  hand  in  her  bosom,  and  taking 
thence  the  pink  plaid  ribbon,  she  held  it  up 
before  Jessie's  eyes,  and  said,  in  a  voice 
even  more  subdued  than  ever,  "Do  you 
know  this  ribbon,  Jessie  ?  this  pink  plaid 
ribbon  |" 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Jessie,  faintly,  and  hardly 
able  to  stand  ;  "it  is  my  ribbon.  I  thought 
I  lost  it  in  the  wood." 

"And  so  you  did  lose  it,  Jessie,  and  I 
never  would  have  stolen  it.  I  found  it 
twisted  round  a  twig  on  the  hillside,  and 
kept  it.  I  don't  know  now  why  I  did  it, 
only  I  kept  doing  bad  things  after  I  broke 
the  comb,  and  I  was  never  happy  after  that, 
do  what  I  would  ;  but  I  did  not  know  it  was 
really  stealing,  though  1 1  knew  it  was  very, 
very  wrong.  Will  you  forgive  me,  Jessie  ? 
Can  you  forgive  me  ?" 

"  Forgive  you,  Nellie  !  forgive  you  !  Oh, 
Nellie,  how  sorry — how  sorry  I  feel  for  you !" 


97 

And  this  time  Nellie  let  Jessie  kiss  her, 
"  for,"  said  she,  "  you  know  all  now.  Jessie," 
continued  Nellie,  after  they  had  become  a 
little  more  composed,  "what  an  unhappy 
child  I  have  been  ever  since  the  Fair !  I 
have  thought  a  great  deal  about  my  guilt, 
and  I  have  prayed  a  great  deal.  Yes,  Jessie, 
often  and  often  in  the  night  I  have  waked 
and  asked  God  to  forgive  me  all  for  Christ's 
sake  ;  but  I  was  not  happy." 

"  No,"  said  Jessie,  "  because  you  did  not 
acknowledge  all  your  sin.  Now  you  feel 
happy,  don't  you  2" 

"  Yes,  I  am  happier  now.  Only  when  I 
think  how  good  God  has  been  to  me — how 
long  He  has  borne  with  me — how  great  He 
is,  and  how  great,  how  very  great,  my  sin  has 
been,  I  am  so  afraid  He  will  not  forgive  me  ! 
Do  you  think  He  will,  Jessie  ?" 

"  I  know  He  will ;  I  know  that  He  will, 
Nellie !  Don't  you  remember  the  verse  I 
taught  you  on  the  seat  between  the  trees  ? 
9 


98  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   C01TB. 


1  If  -we  confess  our  sins,  God  is  faithful  and 
just  to  forgive  us  our  sins.'  " 

"  Oh,  yes !  it  was  that  verse  coming  into 
my  mind  that  made  me  confess  to  you, 
Jessie.  Ought  I  confess  to  the  minister,  too, 
Jessie — to  Mr.  Phelps  ?" 

"  No,  no,  indeed ;  the  comb  didn't  belong 
to  Mr.  Phelps,  nor  the  ribbon  either.  You 
have  never  injured  him,  and  he  shall  never  . 
know  one  word  about,  nor  any  other  person 
but  mamma.  God  forgives  us  our  sins  for 
Christ's  sake — for  His  precious  blood,  which 
was  shed  on  the  cruel  cross  for  sin,  that  sin-\ 
ners  might,  through  repentance  and  faith  in 
His  name,  be  washed  in  that  blood,  and  made 
pure  from  sin  and  fit  for  the  life  eternal.  If 
you  had  confessed  to  me  about  the  comb,  I 
would  have  taught  you  your  duty  as  well  as 
I  could,  and  you  never  would  have  kept  the 
money,  and  then  everybody  would  not  have 

known  about  it." 

i 

"Yes,"   said  Nellie,  crying,  "everybody 


Jessie's  visit  to  the  hut.  99 


does  know  about  it,  and  not  one  of  the 
scholars  has  spoken  to  me  since — it  is  so 
hard,  Jessie." 

"  It  is,"  said  Jessie,  "  and  I  did  not  speak 
to  you.  It  was  wicked  and  cruel  in  me  ;  but 
mamma  said  I  must  not  have  you  for  my 
friend,  and  I  thought  it  was  right  to  show 
you  that  I  thought  you  had  acted  wrong. 
Can  you  forgive  me,  Nellie  ?" 

Nellie  assured  Jessie  of  her  perfect  for- 
giveness, and  handing  her  the  Bible,  she 
asked  her  to  find  the  verse — the  precious 
verse — if  we  confess  out  sins — "  for,"  said 
she,  "  I  mean  to  learn  the  chapter." 

Jessie  would  have  remained  much  longer 
with  Nellie,  but  just  then  Mr.  Carter  came 
for  her  in  the  sleigh,  and  she  was  obliged 
reluctantly  to  say  good-bye  to  Nellie. 

The  spring  is  very  lagging  in  that  part  of 
the  State  where  the  incidents  of  this  story 
occurred,  and  in  consequence  of  bad  roads 
and  unpleasant  weather,  Jessie  did  not  visit 


100  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL   COMB. 


the  hut  again  till  one  day  in  May,  at  noon, 
when  she  wandered  off  from  her  school  com- 
panions, determined  to  make  Nellie  a  visit. 
As  she  walked  along  she  felt  sadly,  and,  in 
her  mind,  ran  over  all  the  touching  circum-  . 
stances  of  her  friendship  for  Nellie  Brown, 
and  she  arrived  at  the  hut  without  noticing 
that  there  was  no  "curling  smoke  arising 
from  that  rustic  roof,"  or  any  other  signs  of 
life  about  the  place.  The  gate,  too,  she 
found  fastened  with  a  rope.  Her  heart  al- 
most misgave  her,  as  she  stood  for  a  moment 
wondering  what  it  could  all  mean ;  and  yet 
hope  was  so  strong  in  her  nature,  that  she 
determined  to  climb  the  fence  and  find  out 
whether  they  had  gone  on  an  expedition  to 
sell  baskets,  or  gone  away  for  good.  She 
found  the  door  locked,  of  course,  and  turned 
to  look  in  at  the  window,  before  which  she 
anxiously  noticed  there  was  no  little  blue 
curtain,  as  usual. 

She  found  the  hut  entirely  empty,  both  of 


JESSIE *S    VISIT    TO    THE    HUT.  101 


furniture  and  inmates ;  there  was  not  a  tiling 
left ;  even  the  ashes  had  been  taken  up,  and 
the  hearth  nicety  swept.  Jessie  stood  look- 
ing in  at  the  little  forsaken  window  some 
minutes ;  then,  heart-sick,  she  sat  down  on 
the  door-step,  and  burying  her  face  in  her 
hands,  she  wept  sad,  sad  tears  of  sympathy 
for  the  sorrows  of  her  friend  Nellie  Brown. 


Several  years  passed  away,  and  Jessie  Car- 
ter had  never  been  able  to  learn  anything  of 
the  Browns,  till  one  evening  a  box  was  left 
for  her  by  a  stranger  at  the  farm-house.  On 
opening  the  box  she  found  it  to  contain  a 
letter  and  a  comb — a  tortoise-shell  comb — 
precisely  like  the  one  Nellie  Brown  had  de- 
stroyed years  before.  Scarcely  noticing  the 
comb,  she  tore  open  the  letter  and  read  it 
aloud  to  her  father  and  mother.  It  was  as 
follows : 

New  York,  July  1st,  18 — . 

Remembering  the  trying  friendship  of  our 


102  THE   TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


childhood,  Jessie — for  by  that  sweet  name  I 
must  once  more  address  you — I  feel  assured 
you  will  be  glad  to  hear  from  me.  The  mere 
writing  your  dear  name  so  overcomes  me,  so 
fills  my  very  soul  with  recollections  of  the 
past,  that  I  am  fearful  I  shall  not  be  able  to 
write  much.  This  comb,  which  I  send  you 
by  a  person  who  will  pass  through  the  village 

of ,  I  have  had  for  three  years ;  I  bought 

it  with  the  very  first  money  I  earned  over 
what  was  absolutely  necessary  for  our  com- 
fort, but  I  have  never  till  now  been  able  to 
send  it  to  you.  I  know  you  would  like  me 
to  retrace  the  past,  from  our  parting  at  the 
hut,  on  the  day  of  my  blessed  confession  to 
you ;  but  it  would  make  my  letter  quite  too 
long.  I  could  not  bear  to  leave  without  a 
parting  word  to  you;  but  from  the  day  of 
your  visit  to  us,  my  mother  could  not  rest 
till  we  were  away  and  forever  from  every- 
thing connected  with  my  cruel  life  there. 
And  Providence  seemed  to  smile  upon  her 


jessie's  visit  to  the  hut.  103 


desire,  and  opened  a  way  for  us.  A  basket- 
maker  whom  we  knew  came  to  live  in  the 
cottage  by  the  willow  swamp,  and  hearing 
from  my  mother  that  we  wished  to  leave  the 
country,  he  offered  to  take  our  cow  and  all 
onr  things,  for  which  he  paid  us  twenty 
dollars.  My  mother  worked  night  and  day 
making  baskets  all  through  the  rainy  weather 
of  that  long,  disagreeable  spring,  and  sold 
them  at  a  neighboring  village  to  the  amount 
of  five  dollars,  and  this  was  the  capital  with 
which  we  left  the  hut  in  the  wood  to  enter 
upon  a  new  life  in  this  great  city.  After 
walking,  as  you  know  we  were  obliged  to 
do,  twenty  miles,  we  reached  the  Erie  Canal, 
and  from  there  worked  our  passage  to  this 
city,  having  only  spent  in  the  journey  five 
dollars.  We  did  not  meet  with  as  many  dis- 
couragements as  you  would  imagine  in  this 
world  of  strangers.  Our  twenty  dollars  was 
our  passport  to  the  heart  of  a  very  good,  but 
poor  and  penurious  woman,  who  let  us  one 


104  THE   TORTOISE  -SHELL    COMB. 


of  two  rooms  she  had  rented  for  herself. 
The  basket  market  was  excellent,  and  in  a 
little  while  we  were  more  comfortably  fixed 
than  we  had  ever  been  in  our  lives  before. 
We  came  here  determined  to  live  new  and 
Christian  lives,  and  as  soon  as  we  could 
make  ourselves  at  all  decent  in  appearance 
we  determined  to  go  to  church ;  but,  do  you 
know,  we  had  some  difficulty,  as  we  were 
strangers,  in  finding  one.  The  •  woman  (our 
landlady)  told  us  "she  didn't  believe  there 
was  no  meetin'  in  the  city  with  such  an  out- 
landish name  as  Episcopal,  and  that  for  her 
part  she  could  sing  and  pray  with  the  Meth- 
odists near  by,  and  be  thankful,  and  she 
guessed  she  was  as  good  as  we  any  day." 
We  spent  two  Sundays  looking  in  and  out 
of  the  different  places  of  worship  in  vain, 
but  the  third  Sunday  we  clothed  ourselves 
as  nicely  as  we  could,  and  stood  in  one  of 
the  principal  streets  till  we  saw  some  ladies 
with  Prayer-books  in  their  hands.     We  fol- 


jessie's  visit  to  the  hut.  105 


lowed  them,  and  soon  found  ourselves  where 
we  would  be  ;  and  Jessie,  oh,  Jessie  !  it  was 
just  as  you  said — everything  was  so  heav- 
enly !  and  I  love  it.  But  I  shall  tire  you  if 
I  write  so  long  a  letter.  The  minister  in  a 
few  Sundays  found  us  out  and  came  to  see 
us,  and  has  been  a  kind  friend  to  us  ever 
since.  It  is  time  I  should  tell  you  the  best 
thing  I  have  to  say.  I  have  been  baptized 
and  confirmed,  and  received  at  the  table  of 
our  Lord,  and  I  feel  in  the  depths  of  my 
heart  that  I  am  accepted  there — that  God, 
for  Christ's  sake,  has  forgiven  me  all  my  sin, 
and  though  the  events  of  my  childhood  can 
never  cease  to  sadden  me  at  times,  yet  the 
general  tenor  of  my  life  is  peaceful  and 
happy.  I  am  married  to  an  excellent  young 
man  whom  I  earnestly  love.  He  knows  all, 
but  does  not  love  me  any  the  less  for  it. 
My  mother  is  still  alive,  but  she  is  so  feeble 
I  feel  she  will  soon  go  home.  She  has" 
never   been    a  cheerful   woman    since    my 


106  THE    TORTOISE-SHELL    COMB. 


trouble,  but  we  trust  she  is  a  faithful  Chris- 
tian. God  bless  you,  Jessie  Carter !  and 
may  you  ever  feel  the  sweet  peace,  the  un- 
speakable blessing,  of  that  forgiveness  which 
is  the  portion  of  your  old  friend  and  school- 
mate, Nellie. 

A  month  or  so  after  the  receipt  of  the 
above  package  and  letter,  Jessie  Carter  was 
seated  at  her  window,  one  cheerful  summer 
morning,  when  a  neat,  light  carriage  and 
pony  drove  up  to  her  door.  She  had  just 
then  been  thinking  of  Nellie  Brown,  when 
in  the  lady-like  looking  person  who  stepped 
into  her  room  she  recognized  her  old  friend. 
By  her  side  was  a  pretty  child,  with  curling 
ringlets  and  a  happy  smile. 

"I  have  brought  you  little  Jessie,"  ex- 
claimed the  mother,  her  eyes  suffusing  with 
tears.  "I  wish  her  to  know  her  mother's 
best  friend — one  who  first  taught  her  to 
pray — and  I  trust  your" — 


JESSIE'S    VISIT   TO   THE   HUT.  107 

Here  her  words  were  broken  short  by 
Jessie's  embraces.  "Dear  Nellie  Brown," 
she  said — "  for  I  must  for  once  still  call  you 
that  name — how  delighted  I  am  to  see  you ! 
Oh,  Nellie,  Nellie !  how  could  you  leave  me 
without  one  word  of  forgiveness  ?  for  I  am 
the  one  that  needed  forgiveness,  not  having 
half  done  my  duty."  And  so  they  met  with 
the  warmest  affection. 

That  day  was  a  lively  one  for  the  two 
friends.  Over  the  old  familiar  places  they 
went.  The  old  school-house  still  stood  in 
the  same  happy  vale.  The  two  streams  still 
blended  their  waters,  and  went,  reflecting  the 
blue  sky,  down  the  meadow  together.  Even 
the  very  barrel  under  which  the  comb— the 
tortoise-shell  comb— that  first  cause  of  all 
Nellie's  transgressions— was  hid,  still  gather- 
ed in  its  moss-covered  sides  the  rain  from  the 
sky.  And  Jessie  and  Nellie,  though  pleased 
and  rejoicing,  could  not  look  on  the  scene 
without  shedding  a  tear.. 


*>*  ' 


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